Attempting Love
by chinarai
Summary: He used to feel so confident going out with other girls in the past, but something about her made him feel oddly intimidated. Maybe it was her dad.
1. i

Right! Some of you will recognize this from _I'll Take You Deeper_. I had been toying with the idea of turning this one in particular in its own fanfic, and it wasn't until a lovely reader showed some interest that I made up my mind.

The title comes from _Revolving Doors_. It's cheesy af, but I had been trying for the longest time to think of something to name this, and I decided to settle for it. It works, I think.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **i**

* * *

Stuart sat in the waiting room, idly thumbing through a music magazine on the coffee table set before him as the receptionist typed away at her computer, filling the room with a clicking noise. He did not mind the waiting; he had a beautiful view that overlooked the city and the place was quite nice, mostly white decorated with blacks and reds. The room smelled of coffee, and the sofa felt soft beneath his weight. He flipped another page and pursed his lips, resisting the urge to check his phone and send his friend a message.

Russel was his best friend, they knew one another since college when they were roommates and the friendship persisted to this day. They used to go to concerts and talk about music all the time back then, but now with their busy schedules and jobs, it was hard to find the time to talk in person. So they settled for text messages and some occasional calls, and Russ would often tell him that he was singing more frequently and in different places. They were not very young, both of them were way past thirty, but they managed to follow their dreams even if it took them some time.

Stuart had felt the impulse of ditching his current record company and agent, and did so with the intent of seeking out another one, one that was said to have one of the worst men to work with as its owner, but that could make your career skyrocket. Russel had advised him against it, and for a while, Stu did as his friend told him, but eventually his intuition pushed him to throw caution to the wind and do this without thinking or planning things through.

Therefore, now he sat here, in the waiting room of Murdoc Niccals' record company, El Diablo Records... The name did not help much with his reputation as Satanist, and Stu did not know how to feel about it.

The receptionist pushed away from her chair and walked over to the singer, keeping her gaze vacant as she examined him from head to toe before turning around. "Mr. Niccals will be seeing you now."

He rose to his feet and followed her, thanking the woman when she opened the door to the office and stepping inside with little hesitation. The room was foggy and smelled of cigarette smoke, there was a statue of Pazuzu in the corner and an ox skull hung on the wall directly across from him, above the desk. He tried not to think of the rumors as he gave the man a wavering smile and approached his desk with papers and objects haphazardly strewn about.

Murdoc was a man with green tinted skin, black hair with matching thick eyebrows, dark circles under his eyes, and a nose that seemed to have been punched a fair amount of times in the past. "What? Yer Stuart Pot?" He slapped Stu's portfolio, which he clearly had never opened, on the only empty space of the desktop. His yellowed fingernails were long and uneven.

Satanist? Stuart felt like he was making a deal with the devil himself.

"Tha's me, yeah." He swallowed; suddenly, he regretted not following Russel's advice.

"Yeh don' 'ave tha looks o' a rockstar. What tha fuck 'appened to yer face? Why's yer hair blue?"

Stuart considered answering to the man's angry inquiry, but not even his extreme unluckiness could explain how he managed to get himself involved in many accidents in his younger days, which resulted in injuries he sustained for a long while. Falling off a tree, getting into two car crashes and few other incidents such as a having a baseball bat hit him square in the mouth when his parents took him to America as a kid could explain part of it, yes, but Murdoc was not interested in any of that, thankfully.

"Ehh, doesn' matta. We'll jus' wait fo' my daughter."

"D-Daughter?"

"Yeah, my daughter. I 'ad 'er with my ex – uh... Ex, ex, ex, ex, ex, ex-wife – yeh get tha drill." Murdoc dismissed it with a wave of his hand and started picking underneath his nails. "Anyway, she's tha one tha's got a real eye fo' talent an' stuff, so yeah, we'll see what she thinks o' ya."

The singer shifted uncomfortably on his seat. Clearly, he had not expected that. He had imagined that he would have to please this stranger so he could have a contract – a _music_ contract – and he had few friends that gave him tips and whatnot to make Murdoc happy... But none of them ever mentioned his daughter. Oh God, he could imagine it now, a little girl most likely, with the same skin tone as her father and his nose before it got too fractured for wear, would waltz into his office and look Stu in the face for only a split second before deciding that he was not cute enough for her standards. She would tug on her pigtails, even, or maybe cry because his hyphema made him look too creepy.

Or worse, she would be a teenager and would deem him too scrawny and not hot enough, not exactly the underwear model type she liked. She would listen to him for five seconds and dismiss him completely, because his voice was not deep and overly masculine, and he would leave the office feeling ridiculed. Honestly, he felt humiliated now as he thought that two imaginary girls would turn him down solely based on his looks, which never once had bothered him before.

The door of the office opened and Stuart tried not to flinch. Footsteps echoed around him as Murdoc greeted the newcomer, and the singer was not ready to look at his doom in the face just yet... But he had to. Bravely, he inhaled through his nose and lifted his eyes to look at the person standing beside the producer – only to find that it was not a child or a teenage at all. She was a full-grown woman with pale skin and slanted eyes. Asian, she was Asian and she looked nothing like Murdoc as she peered at him with black eyes that were hidden partially behind a messy fringe. Her hair was choppy, wind-swept, she was short and thin with gentle curves in the right places. He had seen her face in the TV once or twice, if he was not mistaken.

"Stuart, this is my daughter, Noodle. Don' ask me why she picked this awful stage name." Murdoc gestured between them and turned to the woman dressed in a striped shirt and high-waisted shorts. "Love, this is tha man yeh'll interview. Now if yeh will excuse me, I got somewhere else to be."

Stu remained mute as the producer stood from his leather chair with a groan and grabbed a pack of cigarettes before leaving the two of them alone. He picked at the hem of his shirt as Noodle made herself comfortable before him, trying to arrange the chaos that was her father's work desk. She eventually gave up with a click of her tongue and pushed things out of her way as far as they would go without falling off the edge, and finally reached over for his portfolio, breaking the seal and opening the file.

"Alright, Stuart Pot," she started as her gaze roamed over his basic info, and locked eyes with him, smiling. "Let's begin."


	2. ii

**ii**

* * *

Stu was glad that the incredibly dusted carpet of Murdoc's office muted his tapping foot, because he was nervous beyond words. The idea of being interviewed by a possible Satanist did not seem to leave him on edge as much as being interviewed by his daughter, the one with a real eye for talent, in his words. It had been about five minutes and Noodle was rubbing the bridge of her nose as she skimmed through the lower half of his portfolio, and he bit the inside of his cheek, not liking the way she was acting.

Her hand dropped heavily on her lap and she rolled her head to the side to look him in the face, her accent notable in her voice. "Can I offer you some water? Maybe I should turn the A/C on, you're sweating."

He wiped his damp palms on his jeans to no avail. "W-Water's fine, fank yeh."

Her lips twitched and she whirled her chair around towards the mini bar section of the office. And paused, staring at the floor without as much as blinking for a handful of seconds. "You know what? I can't do this." Stuart jumped a little at her tone, a little higher and agitated than before. Noodle sprang to her feet and tossed his portfolio aside, and it landed perfectly on the couch set in a shadowy corner of the office, the one where Murdoc lied down when he was hungover. "This place is too messy and stuffy, I can't concentrate. Come on, we're going out."

Stuart stumbled to follow her and walked a step behind as she guided him the way he had come, greeting anyone that crossed their path. One step he walked was equivalent to two of her brisk ones, and he tailed after her, wordless, as they crossed the busy street and walked down the block to the nearest coffee shop. He bumped shoulders with several people wandering the sidewalk and squeezed his way through the glass doors of the establishment whilst she made her way inside effortlessly without even as much as brushing against someone.

The place had that rich aroma of coffee lingering around them, mixed with the scent of toasted bread and melted butter, and they sat on stools around a round, high table by the window. Noodle looked at the menu for a split second before ordering herself some tea, and he asked for some coffee, too embarrassed and self-conscious to order anything else.

She laced her fingers together and sat her chin upon them, and he took notice of the black nail polish that was starting to chip at the corners. "So, Pot." His eyes swiveled up to her face. "I read some basic info just now, but I wanna hear it from you."

"Oh, um..." He drummed his fingers on the tabletop before shoving his anxious hands between his thighs. "I was born in 'Ertfordshire, but was raised in Crawley. I went to a catholic school there, St. Wilfred's and, ah, I guess I wasn' very smart." His companion snickered slightly, and he smiled in spite of himself. "Me, uh, 'air's naturally blue."

Noodle lifted her eyebrows and perked up a little. "Really now?"

"Yeah, I fell o' a tree when I was a kid and it jus' fell o', grew back blue. Weird, uh?"

"Weird in an interesting sort of way." She grinned a little. "Go on."

Stu rubbed the back of his neck, and then pointed at his own eyes. "I was involved in many accidents and got 'ese 8-ball fractures." Noodle nodded in understanding and waited for him to go on. "I've, uh, been tryin' fo' a while now to make a livin' out o' music, y'know."

Noodle hummed and shifted her position, her feet lightly bumping his shin as she crossed her legs underneath the table. "And why, exactly, you want that?"

"I've always been musically inclined?" The way he said it, it sounded like a question. Stuart cleared his throat and continued. "I was always listenin' to music as a lil' kid and was takin' classes, uh, vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, yeh name it. I loved music classes in school."

She placed a hand in the crook of her elbow and tilted her head to the side. "Did you major in music?"

"Nah, I got a law degree." Her eyebrows raised further up, and he chuckled, feeling a little embarrassed. "What?"

"I'm surprised, that's all." Noodle must have seen something on his face, because she quickly added to correct herself. "I mean – most people that come to us never got a degree on anything. They're either fresh out of high school looking to make a living out of this before pursuing other careers, or they're just moving from another record company, such as yourself. Sorry if I made it sound like... You were incapable or something, that wasn't my intention."

"'S alright, 't'was a misunderstandin'." He smiled at her to stress his statement, and she smiled sheepishly, shagging her shoulders a little. "I used to get funny looks at college 'cause o' me looks an' me 'istory wif accidents. I proved 'em wrong tha' I'm not stupid, y'know. It felt good."

The waitress arrived in that moment with their orders, apologizing that it took so long because they were packed that day and short staffed. Noodle smiled politely and thanked her, her lips stretching even further as the teen looked at her with relief in her eyes before excusing herself and making a round to retrieve empty dishes from other customers. Stuart watched as she stirred her drink and brought it to her lips, blowing it to cool it down slightly. He noticed she added no sugar to it, something he was doing just now to his coffee.

"Did yeh major in anyffink?"

Noodle looked at him from over the porcelain cup and placed it back down on the saucer with a clink. "I did. I studied modern languages in Osaka. I had to travel all around the world because of it, so I'm fluent in many other languages, not only Japanese and English."

"Yer mom's Japanese?"

She nodded, her fingers playing with a tiny packet of artificial sweetener that she got from the small basket in the center of the table. "Yeah, she was a very active model in her younger days. My dad used to play bass in his prime times, so they met at parties and events." She shrugged slightly and sniffed. "They married, but it didn't last long. It happens a lot with celebrities, so I'm not surprised."

He nodded and took a large gulp of his coffee, immediately regretting it as it burned his tongue and his throat. Noodle covered her lips to hide her smile as he tried to pretend nothing was wrong, even as his eyes were getting too watery to hide it. He spoke in a strained voice in hopes to shift the focus of her attention. "Why did yeh come t'England?"

"I had to live here for three months and really liked it. So my dad asked me to work with him, and I thought, why not take the chance?" Noodle sipped her tea, taking the time to watch the people walking on the street, and Stu opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him short with a raised hand. "I thought I was supposed to be the one doing the interview here."

Stu laughed at her teasing remark. "We can go aight back to it, can I jus'... Ask summfink?"

"Sure, shoot it."

"Is your dad a Satanist?"

Noodle stared at him, surprised, just blinking, and then burst out laughing, holding onto the table for support as she doubled over. Her entire frame was shaking and he found the sound of her laughter very pleasing to his ears. "Oh God," she started breathlessly, fighting to regain some composure. "It's hard to deny it with so many evidences lying around, but," she took a deep breath and cupped a hand to her reddened cheek, "Yeah, he is. He's, like, Satan's number one fan. It's kinda creepy, but eh, what can I do, right?"

He chuckled and held her gaze for a while, until he started feeling embarrassed and had to look away. Noodle bit her bottom lip and averted her eyes, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. "So, um... Did you bring any recorded songs?"

"Uh? Oh! Yeah, yeah." Stu reached for the front pocket of his jeans and presented her with a flash drive. "'Ere yeh go."

The smile never left her face. "Thanks. I... Need to get going now. I have an appointment."

"No worries." He took his wallet and opened it, placing a bill on the tabletop that would cover for their drinks, along with some tip for the waitress.

"Oh, no, no!" Noodle protested, reaching over and brushing her fingers across the back of his hand. She pulled back as if burned and flushed slightly. "I'll pay mine, at least."

Stu shook his head, his ears burning. "Me treat, I insist."


	3. iii

Oops, a couple of days late, but it's here nonetheless. I have about eleven other chapters written so far, I think.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **iii**

* * *

"So, how'd it go, man?"

Stuart sat on the ground of his cramped living room on a thin pillow, the lights of the muted TV show dancing across his face as he Skyped his best friend. Russel was currently somewhere in America, touring to promote his second studio album that was thankfully selling quite well. He was a good rapper, having learnt the style from a late friend of his before he moved to England to live with his uncle. It was fate that made these two music lovers cross paths and bond over something both were clearly passionate about; they even shared the same dream of being famous singers.

"It went well." He started, grinning a little and showing the gap of missing teeth in his mouth. "Murdoc's a real creepy guy, but it was 'is daughter who interviewed me."

"Dude's got a daughter?" Russ chuckled. "Talk about weird."

"Yah, she's 'alf-Japanese an' stuff. A real nice lady, if yeh ask me, nuffink like 'er dad."

"Really?"

Stu nodded and stretched his arms above his head. "She studied modern languages, travelled 'round the world... Oh, she confirmed tha' he's a Satanist."

Russ guffawed on the other side of the screen, banging his big fist on the tabletop and making his laptop rattle. "Called it!"

"I gave 'er me flash drive wif some songs." He stopped and rubbed at the stub on his chin; he needed to shave. "We didn' speak fo' long, but we 'ad a good time at tha coffee shop."

"Oh?" His friend quirked a thick brow at him. "How so?"

He shrugged and scratched the side of his head. "I don' know, she seems fun. 'Er laughter's nice an' she likes music, obviously, so..."

"Did ya pay her drink as well?" Russ asked, examining his friend suspiciously through the webcam with his chin cradled on his hand. When Stu nodded, he shot him a suggestive look. "Look who's startin' to get smitten with Mr. Niccals' daughter."

"Wha..." Stu blinked and then shook his head vigorously. "Don' be stupid, Russ, I ain't gettin' smitten wif anyone."

"I'm just jokin', man." He laughed uproariously. "This interview just sounded like a casual date, if ya ask me. And by the way, I haven't heard 'bout any dates you've had recently."

Stuart turned his head away, frowning at the wall and pondering his statement. Damn, okay, so maybe Noodle was really interesting and she surely was pretty, but he was _not_ smitten with her. They were merely acquaintances and he thought she was attractive, period, but now he could not stop thinking about this date... thing. Did she feel like it was a date? He himself had not, except maybe for the last minutes. They had stared at each other for about ten seconds and got flustered after all. Did it mean anything?

Nah, it was just a coincidence for sure. Just because he felt embarrassed by looking into her eyes, which were very pretty by the way, it did not mean that he was starting to have feelings for her. He barely knew her! But he did know that she liked music, which was a plus. And he made her laugh, so Noodle certainly liked him... but not in _that_ way! Huh.

"You okay, man?"

"Uh? Yeah, yeah..." Stu rubbed the inner corner of his eyes and groaned. "I was jus' finking 'bout it, is all."

"What conclusion did you get?"

"Jus' tha' she's, like, at least ten years younger 'an me."

"And? Still an adult." Russ pressed, leaning his arm onto the table. "Ask her out, dude. You'll be doing yourself a favor."

"'At's a ridiculous idea, man. I jus' met 'er."

His friend picked up his mobile phone once it buzzed beside his laptop and twisted his lips. "Look, I gotta go. Keep me updated, alright?" Stu nodded, unsure if he wanted to know about the process of creating his first studio album or about her. "Seriously, though. Think 'bout it, man. Ya haven't told me 'bout any of the girls you've seen recently, so if you're mentioning this one to me, then she's different."

Stu nodded and bade his friend goodbye, lowering the screen of the laptop and staring at it for long seconds in silence. Asking her out on a date right now seemed too straightforward, especially considering that they only talked for about thirty minutes or so. Maybe he could, hmm, actually get to know her before trying to make any moves. That seemed like a plausible thing to do.

He ruffled his blue locks in agitation and stood up, taking the empty orange juice glass to the kitchen sink and filling it with some water. He observed the droplets falling from the faucet to the glass, and decided to take a shower in hopes that it would wash away this... This... Whatever this was. The last thing he needed right now was to fantasize about an imaginary relationship with the daughter of a possible music agent that happened to be a certified Satanist that could pretty much ask the Devil himself to drag his ass down to Hell if he ever as much looked at his little girl in a funny way.

The shower did not help at all, he realized as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Water fell from the tips of his hair and onto the yellowed tiles of the bathroom, making a bigger mess than before, and he sighed when he thought of cleaning it up. Drying his darkened blue locks, Stuart decided to focus on getting a call first. It was best to worry about his career for the moment, anyway.

* * *

He found himself on the very same couch of Murdoc's waiting room two days later, bouncing his legs in place as he waited for the strange man to see him. The receptionist left a while ago with a massive stack of papers in her arms, leaving him alone to his devices. There was not much that he could do to hide his anxiety aside from pacing around until he carved a hole on the floor, so he simply settled for lots of shifting and tapping his foot in place. Maybe that was the real reason why the assistant left the room with a deep scowl on her features.

The door to Niccals' office burst open, slamming on the wall and nearly scaring Stu out of his skin. Murdoc came into view with a cigar between his teeth, and grinned almost maniacally at him. "2D! Good thing yeh 'ere!

"2...D?"

"Yeah, listen," he blew smoke into the room and motioned for him to follow, clapping his hand quite hard on his back and making Stu wheeze. "Noodle told me 'bout yer story. Yeh got two dents on yer face from those fractures, so I came up with tha perfect stage name fo' yeh, man." Murdoc poked at his chest with the cigar in hand, and the singer looked down at it as if afraid he could get burnt. Murdoc noticed no such thing. "2D! I really am a genius." He sighed and took another drag. "I can already see yer face on the billboards."

Stage name? It meant he was accepted, right? It meant that El Diablo Records would fund him and his dream of being a famous singer. Stuart could hardly believe it was really happening. "W-What did yeh fink o' me songs?"

Murdoc opened his eyes, awakening from his daydream, and flicked his wrist, making ash float to the floor. "What? I didn' listen to any o' it. Noodle did, she really seemed to like 'at song, uh, what was it called again? Bifold doors or somethin'."

"Revolvin' Doors?"

"Exactly, tha' one." Murdoc looked at him smugly for some reason and ushered him to take a seat. "Tha contract's ready, I jus' need yer signature."

Stuart peered at the pen caught in Murdoc's fingers and took it, being extra careful not to touch his overly long nails, and looked down at the documents placed before him. The smell of smoke and the stuffy, almost dingy atmosphere of his office really made it hard to concentrate on what was printed on the pages. He swallowed and flipped a page, now just pretending to read since all of his attention was focused on not looking at the statue of Pazuzu or the ox skull just ahead of him. He uncapped the pen, slowly bringing it down to the paper and hesitating for just a split second.

Surely, Murdoc was not asking for his soul in exchange, right?

He signed the contract in a handwriting that had never really improved since he was little, and pushed the documents towards the man staring at him with the eeriest smile on his face. Stuart tried not to regret his decision, but it was far too late to go back now.

Murdoc snatched the paper away, as if sensing or knowing that he could or would change his mind, and placed it away out of view. "This is tha best decision yeh've ever made, 2D. Yeh'll make me very rich – I mean, yeh'll be very rich." He reached over and grabbed his hand, shaking it to seal the deal, and told him he would call Stu when he was ready to begin planning his first studio album in El Diablo.

Stuart left not much long later and waved goodbye to the receptionist, who promptly ignored him in favor of watching the printer do its work. He walked to the elevator and pressed a button, humming to himself until the doors slipped open with a _ding_ , and he wanted to turn around immediately and take the stairs instead. Noodle was inside inspecting some papers in her hand, so absorbed in her task that she did not look at him. He stepped in cautiously and made sure to stand way away from her, even as he took in her outfit for the day. Those jeans fit her very nicely, and now he wanted to jump off the nearest window for ever allowing himself to think that. He pressed the button to the bottom floor and shoved his hands inside his pockets.

When the elevator started moving again, she lifted her head and looked at him. "Stu!" Her lips curved and she hugged the papers to her chest, turning her body to face him fully. "I take it that you already signed the contract?"

"Yah, I jus' did."

"Good! I listened to your songs and I really loved the Revolving Doors demo. I'm sure we could work on it a little more and promote it as your first single! The beat is quite catchy and I adore the lyrics." She stopped and laughed a little, rubbing at the curve of her neck as a faint blush dusted her cheeks. "Sorry, look at me rambling on."

His back straightened as he felt the need to reassure her that her enthusiasm was not bad at all. On the contrary, it was very much appreciated. "N-No, it's fine! I'm glad yeh like it."

"Really?" Noodle placed a hand on her chest and breathed out in relief. "Phew. It's my favorite. I'd definitely buy all versions of it."

"Tha's really nice o' yeh to say." He smiled softly at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Fanks a lot, Noodle."

She took a deep breath to speak more, but as their eyes met, her mouth clamped shut and she just stared at him. He took the opportunity to study her face, her features, the shape of her eyes and her eyebrows, the curve of her bottom lip, and the way her eyes darted about to take him in as well. Stu felt compelled to do something, either take a step forward and brush her fringe away from her eyes or invite her for another cup of coffee, or tea, whatever she fancied. His hand was itching inside his pocket and his foot was begging him to move a little closer. His mouth had gone dry long ago, and hers had as well, because her tongue swept out to lick at her lips absentmindedly.

The doors opened again, startling them both. Noodle fumbled with the sheets of paper in her hands and he caught a glimpse of various colorful outfits sketched on them before she managed to arrange them neatly once more. Her face was completely scarlet as she peeked at him from under her bangs, and turned away as she mumbled. "I'll see you later, Stu." She stepped out of the elevator in a hurry and walked down the long room filled with people carrying fabric rolls and mannequins dressed in unfinished outfits.

Noodle turned to look at him from over her shoulder once, catching his gaze before the doors closed and the elevator resumed its ride to the bottom floor. Stuart hid his face in his palms and groaned, wondering if maybe Russel was right about him having a crush on a woman he barely knew after all.


	4. iv

To update you guys real quick on my situation, I turned 22, got a full-time internship, and now I'm working on another AU story. The idea that inspired it is quite different, the story itself shouldn't make sense, but nothing in their world does, right?

And also, to the lovely reader that told me about the chapters: that was my mistake, sorry! I don't even remember what I did to mess it up that much, but now it seems it's okay. Thank you for telling me!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **iv**

* * *

Weeks had passed since Stu signed the contract, and his album was underway to being published under the artistic name of Gorillaz. He had come up with it once during a drunken chat with Russ on Skype and at about the same time, sent an email to El Diablo regarding that. Now with two artistic names for himself, it was decided that Gorillaz would apply to him and the rest of the band, and 2D would refer to him only. Oh well.

He had spent many hours working with Murdoc's team to come up with the best melodies for the songs that he insisted he would write them himself, by himself. He befriended many employees and other artists that were signed with El Diablo Records, some of which decided to collaborate with his music in one way or another to give him a little boost. Bobby Womack in particular became close friends with him rather quickly.

The equipment used to record everything was top notch and left him very impressed. Stu never wanted to leave the recording room and always felt a little disappointed when security would come around and tell him to go home because they had to close the building for the night. The entire process of producing his album, titled The Fall, left him so inspired and motivated that he would enter his apartment and immediately find a notebook to write lyrics and melodies for upcoming songs. Ideas were pouring from his brain at all times of the day, so he created the habit of taking a notepad and a pencil broken in half to wherever he went to write everything down so he would not forget.

The only things needed now were pictures for the cover and booklet, and a music video to promote The Fall as well. During the production of his album, he would cross paths with Noodle a few times, but they never spoke too much. Both of them were awfully busy and still aware of what happened in the elevator, the events still much too fresh in their minds. If they lingered around one another for more than necessary or tried to get a conversation going, it would get too awkward to handle and one of them would leave without a convincing excuse.

He was still mulling over if he should ask her out, but in the end, Stu never got anywhere.

One little detail that he had forgotten was that she was responsible for the fashion department of the company. Her mother worked in that field, after all, and so she took after her and was extremely tuned with it. When he found out she would be the one taking his measurements and designing his clothes, he nearly turned to ashes on the spot. The embarrassment of standing before his still-unsure-crush in just his underwear was far too much to bear, but Noodle was always so professional about it that it made it a little easier. Just a little.

"Love, yeh know I trust yeh an' I don' know what yeh heard in tha' flash drive, but this man's ugly as shit. Do yeh really want 'im to be our new star?"

Stu was standing ram-rod still on a stool as Noodle adjusted the tape measure around his naked torso. She sighed and tilted her head back, giving the singer a clear view of the pained look on her face. "Dad, you literally look like a burnt zucchini."

"A sexy burnt zucchini." Murdoc added from his spot by the window, and his daughter cringed.

"Oh my God, dad." Noodle released the tape and stepped away from the singer completely, rubbing her eyes tiredly whilst making a bee-line to the door and leaving the dressing room.

2D, as almost everyone called him now, except Noodle herself, shifted uncomfortably on the stool before deciding that he could step off it. With his feet on solid ground, he stole a glimpse of himself on the oval mirror nearby and tried not to frown at his reflection. He was so thin you could easily see his ribs and circle his wrist effortlessly with two fingers, yet he could eat an entire pizza and half a cake in one sitting without breaking a sweat. His super-fast metabolism was a gift from his late grandfather, his parents used to say, and he never thought of it as a curse until now.

In fact, he had never given his appearance much thought, aside from his hair and black eyes, until he started working with Murdoc. The man was always making comments on his looks, on how they should get implants for his missing teeth, on how he was not muscular or attractive enough to attract a large female fanbase. It was a bit degrading and made him feel somewhat insecure, but thankfully, there was always someone around to defend his honor a bit, and that someone was Noodle, the only one who ever talked back to him aside from the bigger stars.

Except, this time she was too tired to give him a little hand. Or so he thought.

She stormed into the room a minute later, a deep scowl on her face as she marched towards the owner of El Diablo Records. "I want you out."

"What." He deadpanned and did not move as much as a finger to leave.

"I want you out!" Noodle repeated, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and manhandling him out of his spot. "Out, out, out!"

Murdoc caught his footing and dusted away imaginary dirt from himself. "What tha fuck, Noodle?"

"I can't work with you here talking all the time and saying downright mean things to him. I–" Grabbing her head and feeling the two of them staring intensely at her, she let out a choked noise and whirled around quickly. "I need some fresh air."

Her hasty footsteps faded from earshot quicker than one would expect, and Murdoc ran a hand through his hair as he clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. 2D did not want to think much of his reaction, what it meant or could mean, or why Noodle seemed so angry on his behalf. He retrieved his clothes from the chair he had left them and put them on, not realizing that his graphic shirt was inside out, and turned to face his superior.

"I'll... Talk wif 'er."

"Do tha'." Murdoc said lowly and showed his back to him. "Buy me some time while I think o' somethin'."

2D left the room and stopped the first person he bumped into, inquiring on her whereabouts and getting only a shrug as answer. He really had no time to look for her in every floor of the building, so he would have to think and try to remember an instance in which either Noodle or someone mentioned where she would go when she was angry, but he came up blank. It seemed that she had a good grasp on her emotions and rarely let them get out of her control, but there had to be a place she would go when she wanted some space.

He thought of the coffee shop and how she took him there for the interview because her dad's office was too cluttered and messy, and she could not concentrate in there. The singer was ready to head there when he paused for a second and thought that she would not find some peace there. He considered asking Murdoc where to go, but something told him that the man had his hands full already. Tapping his foot on the floor and searching his brain for a clue, 2D was getting more frustrated by the second until he remembered that he encountered her a fair number of times riding down the elevator, and Murdoc's office was on the last floor, so...

The rooftop.

It was a place 2D had never been to before, so he imagined it would be either dull and grey, or something out of a movie with grass and arches of roses scattered about with a big fountain in the center, if such thing was possible. Turns out, the rooftop of El Diablo Records was set somewhere in between. There was no grass and most of it was bare concrete, but there were some potted plants in an attempt to make the place more welcoming and lively. There was an unfinished construction site that would most likely serve as a place where the employees could meet and have fun, a wood bench that had seen better days, and that was where he found Noodle sitting with her legs hugged to her chest and her chin resting on her knees.

He approached her quietly and sat beside her, staring out at the sea of buildings of different colors and about the same height that stretched on ahead. The English skies were cloudy, gray, as expected. She said nothing to acknowledge his presence, and he wringed his hands together as he thought of something to say. He settled for something simple. "I just wanted to check on yeh." Stu tilted his head down to look at her face; she kept on staring ahead with hooded eyes. "Are yeh okay?"

Even when she was bummed out, she was too pretty. He should not be thinking that now. "Yeah." Noodle hardly sounded convincing as she shoved her nose into her arms. Her voice came out muffled. "He's been pissing me off a bit lately, that's all. Sorry you had to see that."

"Yeh don' 'ave to apologize." He glanced at his hand and wondered briefly if he should comfort her physically in some way. "Do yeh... Wanna talk 'bout it?"

She shook her head negatively and sighed, lowering her feet to the ground and crossing her legs at her ankles. "It's something I'd have to talk to him about, and I don't know how to approach the subject."

2D twiddled his thumbs and regarded her silently, kicking his legs in place, a habit that made itself known when he was worried over something. "Listen... Murdoc doesn' fink befo' speakin', but he's yer dad. He'll listen to yeh... I fink."

Noodle giggled a little at his uncertainty and gave him a rueful little smile. "Thanks, Stu." His breath caught in his throat as the sun broke through the clouds and illuminated half of her face.

He could not reply to her, because words failed him and they were interrupted by none other than Murdoc himself, who must have been listening to their little talk the entire time. The both of them stood up from the bench when said man cleared his throat aloud and walked over with heavy steps, his gaze focused solely on his daughter. 2D took that as his cue to leave, understanding that they needed some time alone.

Murdoc twisted his lips and dropped his shoulders as if in defeat, and began speaking with Stuart still nearby. "I know I am a gross old man tha' seems to 'ave no clue on 'ow to be nice an' organized, and I know I say a lot o' evil things and I could care less 'bout what tha fuck people think o' me, but I care 'bout what _yeh_ think o' me." There was a pause, some shuffling of clothes, and he continued. "Yer me favorite daughter."

"I'm your only daughter, dad." Came her reply, once more muffled.

"Exactly." He stated proudly. "Yer brothers are a hassle. I can assure yeh none o' them ever heard this comin' from me."

Stu stole a glimpse at them as he opened the door to go back inside, a smile blooming on his face as he saw Murdoc with his arms tightly wrapped around her shoulders, and Noodle's hands gripping at the back of his black shirt in a white-knuckled grip. Her face was shoved in his chest and he had his chin propped on her head, eyes closed in an almost surreal display of serenity. Feeling like he was intruding in an intimate family moment, the singer looked away and stepped through the threshold, missing the last bit of their conversation before the heavy door closed behind him.

"Now, care to explain why on Earth yeh always seem like I personally attacked yeh when I talk shit 'bout 2D?"


	5. v

Hello again. I was having trouble with this chapter and couldn't seem to fix it, so I used this as an excuse to stop writing for a bit and start reading. In the end, I did what I could and moved on or else this story would never move on. Good news is that this story is over. I mean, I have all chapters finished and waiting to be posted. Plus, I'm working on another fanfic that I'm still trying to figure out.

Check the final notes for more.

* * *

 **v**

* * *

Stuart was not sure of what happened exactly after he exited the rooftop that day, but it did not seem like things were completely fine. Noodle had stormed off the building and disappeared for many days, and Murdoc seemed to be even moodier than usual and would actually shoot him murderous glares if they happened to run into each other in El Diablo. The owner of the label would openly ignore him too when he was speaking, or pretend he did not hear the singer calling for him in the hallways.

Some other designer was appointed to resume Noodle's work while she was away somewhere. He wanted to call or text her to make sure she was well. They were not very close, but they were somewhat friends. However, they never exchanged numbers, and Murdoc did not appear to be too willing to share it with him. The entire fashion design team was lost without her and worried for her wellbeing, and their boss did little to soothe their worries. If it were not by the way some employees asked some greater force to bring her back, and the physical evidence such as posters with her face around El Diablo, Stu would have believed that she had been simply a figment of his imagination all along.

Then, just as quickly as she disappeared, she walked back into their lives again. Literally.

After about two weeks, she showed her face around El Diablo once more. She had a large pair of round sunglasses on when she strode into the meeting room, dressed fancier than he ever recalled seeing. The heels of her boots tapped rhythmically on the floor, her long coat swishing gently with every stride. The man taking care of Stu's clothes, Eric, sighed in relief when she took her usual seat beside her father. Noodle made no move to explain herself, nor did she greet or even glance at her father or anyone in the room, but she murmured a string of Japanese words that he caught, and Murdoc's only response was to grunt at her.

The occupants of the room exchanged glances, a heavy silence falling over them. This behavior was not unusual, he had heard; while Noodle actually, honestly and truly, was his favorite child, they had many disagreements and would often engage in verbal fights, with Noodle disappearing off the face of Earth for a couple of days and Murdoc getting even scarier and unbearable. This led to the both of them making peace and getting along for weeks, and once the staff was getting used to the good atmosphere, it would crash around them and the duo would start another round of arguments.

"What tha fuck are yeh waitin' fo'?" Murdoc demanded from his seat at the end of the table. Noodle twisted her lips at his words. "I don' 'ave all day!"

James hurried to stand from his seat, nearly toppling over the chair in his haste. The art and cinematic director had files piled up unevenly in his arms and he circled the table, placing one before each person present for the meeting. "Mr. Niccals, my idea for Stuart's debut music video is quite simple actually." The man began with that air of confidence he usually displayed. "His lamenting tone and the melody make me think of a man away from home and from the people he loves most. I was thinking we could introduce a significant other in this video in flashbacks segments."

Noodle opened the file and started skimming through the script, her eyes hidden behind the round lenses. Murdoc grunted once more and side glanced at the papers in her hand, too lazy to pick his own up. "An' who do yeh 'ave in mind?"

"Why," James continued as he returned to his seat. "I was thinking Noodle could play that part."

"What!" He exclaimed, and the art director visibly paled. "Absolutely not!"

"B-But, sir." James tried to explain himself, wildly gesticulating now. Only Murdoc could snatch away all sense of stability and self-assurance he possessed. "Noodle has participated in many music videos before and she's influential in social media. She could play a great part in promoting his album."

Murdoc sneered and tossed the file given to him across the table, which made the man flinch away in fright. "Tha song doesn' make any fuckin' sense and yeh wanna drag _my daughter_ into this lovey-dovey bullshit yeh wanna pull?" James sunk deeper in his seat with bunched up shoulders, cold sweat dampening his palms beneath the table.

"Urusai, fuzakeru na."

His breath hitched and he turned to look at his daughter with a scowl on his face. "Nanda?" He hissed, leaning close to her. "Nanda yo omae-wa?"

Noodle matched his glare evenly as the tension began to rise, and everyone else began shifting in their seats uncomfortably. Stuart could see her narrowed eyes on her profile and wanted to shrink into himself to avoid the cross-fire. "Kutabare." She replied spitefully and it seemed to be the final straw.

Murdoc let out an enraged roar and slammed his fist on the table, rattling pens and objects alike on top of it. His secretary, who had been standing behind him until his outburst, backed away so she could be closer to the wall. Someone else in the room whimpered, and Alex, who had taken charge of the clothes department in her absence, swayed in place and grabbed his head in despair. Noodle seemed highly unfazed on her part, unlike everyone else, and that only angered her father more.

"Tottoto dete ike!" He howled in her face with a sneer, skin now flushed red.

She pushed him away when he got too close and rose to her feet, glaring down at him. "I'll leave when I damn please! I'm an adult! I can make my own decisions!"

He stood up as well, easily towering over her. "Yer my daughter!"

"That may be so, but it doesn't give you the right to send me back to Japan whenever you have a hissy fit!" Noodle screamed at him, slashing a hand sideways middle-speech. Panting and glaring up at him through her lashes, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, striding away from him and closer to the floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a clear view of the city below. "Can you please give us a moment?" Her tone was drained, tired. Murdoc was facing the opposite direction, glaring at nothing in particular.

Everyone lingered in their seats, unsure of what to do. It was James that stood up and cleared his throat to catch their attention. "We're taking a ten-minute break." Collectively, the rest of the occupants of the room stood and headed for the door as one, Stuart included. He glanced worriedly at Noodle, hoping to catch her gaze, but she was still looking out the window. He looked at Murdoc next, noticing that the man was glaring at _him_ , and so quickly bowed his head and followed the rest to the hallway.

They waited right outside the room, expecting to hear more screams coming from father and daughter, but everything was eerily quiet. Stu played with the buttons of his shirt and hoped everything would be fine between them. For unknown reasons even to himself, he was under the impression that this animosity was his fault, and he could not even imagine or guess why. Some coworkers were huddled together by the coffee machine and talked in hushed whispers, casting glances at the door. The way they were acting made his worry increase greatly. Murdoc... Murdoc would not hurt her, right?

He checked the clock on the wall. Eight minutes had passed and the door opened, left slightly ajar, a sign that they could go back inside and resume the meeting.

This time, he discreetly looked at her, glancing over the top of his script once he reclaimed his seat. Her nose was red and her glasses were still in place, surely concealing red-rimmed eyes. Murdoc seemed highly uncomfortable; she must have cried during their private talk and the sight of her tears made him deeply bothered. He could not stop fidgeting.

Once everyone was settled and had stopped shifting in anticipation, Noodle cleared her throat parted her lips to speak. "It was decided that I'll participate in the music video as long as my dad is present at all times during the shooting."

James made a confused face at said condition, but nodded anyways. "Sure. There's no problem with that." He paused, knitting his brows as he entertained an idea in his mind, but then brushed it away with a shake of his head. "I propose both you and Stuart spend some time together to get used to each other before we start shooting." He said resolutely and then corrected himself hastily. "I-If that's alright." He added the last bit once he caught the murderous glare Murdoc shot at him. Really, what was his problem? He was usually hard to work with, but never this hard and terrible.

Noodle raised a hand to silence her dad before he could go at it again. "That's completely fine." She gave Murdoc a meaningful look and he rolled his eyes, sinking back on his seat with a grumble.

"Okay..." The art director shuffled his papers anxiously, however glad everything seemed to be sorted out. "So, let me explain the script I came up with."

* * *

I figured that it would be interesting if Murdoc knew how to speak Japanese - he was married to a Japanese woman and has a daughter that lived there, so.

I got those sentences from websites so don't blame me if they're wrong lmao but these are the supposed translations:

Urusai – Shut up

Fuzakeru na – Stop being stupid

Nanda – What the hell

Nanda yo omae-wa? - Who the hell do you think you are?

Kutabare – Go to hell

Tottoto dete ike – Get the hell out of here


	6. vi

Hey all! I've got some announcements!

Starting with the good news, Gorillaz are coming for the first time ever to my country and my parents gave me a ticket to their show as graduation gift. This bitch hardly could sleep last night because I was so anxious. Online sales started at 10 am today. At 10:05 I already had my ticket. Yay!

Now, as I've mentioned lots of times before (and I just did btw), I'm graduating. My boss even excused me from my internship so I can focus on this final project. I can't fail now. I'm taking a break from writing, except for one shipping week in which I want to participate this month. So it's a good thing that this story is already done, because then I won't leave you hanging. _I'll Take You Deeper_ was put on hold for the moment. I still don't know how's gonna be the new schedule yet, but you'll get updates, that's for sure. Also, I doodle a lot in class and post those silly things on my tumblr. If you follow, you'll see some doodled snippets from upcoming scene from this work and various others.

I leave you now to enjoy this chapter. I'll see you later!

* * *

 **vi**

* * *

It was only morning and his day was already going downhill. First of all, Stuart had woken up late. It was no unusual occurrence, but today of all days he _needed_ to wake up in time for once. So he brushed his teeth as he dressed for the day ahead and swallowed down a piece of burnt toast without even chewing properly just so he could say he had eaten breakfast, and hurried down the many stairs of his apartment building. He never minded having to walk up and down the stairs every day, but today Stu really wished there was a lift here.

Secondly, his car refused to cooperate. The engine died the three times he tried to turn it on, and he slammed his face on the steering wheel with a curse, the honk resounding in the underground carpark around him. He thought of taking a bus, but the nearest stop was two blocks from here and it was raining hard and he had forgotten his umbrella as usual. There was no time to go back up to his apartment to retrieve it, so he got his cell phone and searched the contact list for a cab number. It would have to do. Stuart pressed the phone to his ears and reclined on the cushions of his seat.

"Hello?" A sleepy, familiar feminine voice replied, and he jolted, fumbling with his phone as he threw it up in the air.

With another curse, he replied with a shaky voice and equally shaky limbs. "Noodle?"

A long silence followed his question. Noodle shifted a lot on the other side of the line before she spoke again. "Stu? What's wrong?"

He bit his lip. How on Earth could he have pressed her name on the screen instead of the cab's? What was her contact doing so close to the cab's anyway? She had given him her number after the meeting two days prior strictly for business only and she said she'd get in contact with him first. He was not supposed to call or text her before she did that.

"Stu?" She asked again, and his breath hitched as he snapped out of his reverie. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry. I, um, was callin' fo' a cab, actually. Sorry I woke yeh up."

She sighed. He felt another pang of guilt for calling her by mistake at six in the morning. On a Sunday. "Do you need anything?"

"I need to go to tha airport and my car won' work, so I was callin' a cab for a lift. I should be there already, to be 'onest."

"I'll drive you there."

"What? No, no, yeh don' need to."

"Just be quiet and stay where you are." She demanded and he pressed his lips together. "I'll be there in a few." He hummed in agreement before she hung up and tossed the phone on the seat beside him. Great, just great.

Stuart waited under the awning at the front door of the building, watching the grey skies and the rain until she arrived. He had never seen her car, so he had no idea what it was like. He knew her dad had a vintage black Camaro, but that was it. Humming a tune to himself, he checked his pockets for his phone, keys and wallet, and snapped his head up when a black sports car honked from the streets. Stu ran down the stairs and opened the door, hurrying into the automobile before rain could fall inside it. It was warm thanks to the heater. He would have to consider buying a new car.

"I thought you were in trouble or something."

He looked at Noodle, taking in her slightly puffy eyes with hints of yesterday's makeup under her bottom lashes. "Sorry fo' draggin' yeh out o' bed."

She shook her head with a smile. "Good morning, Stu."

"Mornin'."

They did not speak much during the ride to the airport. He busied himself by running his fingers on the leather seat where she could not see and taking note of the songs playing in the radio. There were lots of Johnny Thunders songs in her track list, mingled with many songs sung by women mostly, and he would have to make sure to listen to some of those later. She parked as close to the entrance of the airport as possible and reached behind towards the backseat for an umbrella. Thinking she would lend it to him as well, he was surprised when she opened her door and opened it, walking around the car and waiting for him outside his door. Stuart thanked her and together they walked into the building, wiping their feet on the rug by the automatic doors and taking the escalator to the landing area on the upper floor.

"Do you want some coffee?"

He looked at the coffee stall behind her before replying. "I could go fo' a full breakfast right now."

She snickered and hid her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Me too. We'll go grab something after we're done here, then."

That sounded like an idea he would never turn down even if he were not hungry. They found a place to sit and he texted Russel, apologizing for being late and giving him landmarks to know where to meet up in this stupidly big airport. Noodle took the time to reply to some emails of her own, sipping from a bottle of water she bought from a nearby store. Stuart was anxious to meet with his friend again after so long and catch up on his tour and the things he had been up to, and he was quite aware that he never gave her any explanation as to why they needed to be on the airport, but she surely had a clue given the setting.

He remembered one of the last talks they had through Skype and just hoped Russ would not hint at it in front of her. Stu would be mortified and would probably want to dig a hole on the spot so he could bury himself into it.

"Yo, man!" Russel was coming in their direction, pulling two bags along and carrying a backpack that hung from one shoulder. Noodle looked from him to the man beside her, now on his feet and grinning at the incomer, and pocketed her cell phone so she could stand up to greet the reason why she was out of bed so early on a Sunday. "Long time no see!"

Stu strode forward and hugged him, receiving hearty pats on his back before pulling away to better look at his friend. "Ey, Russ. How yeh been?"

"Just peachy, man." He glimpsed behind the tall man, white eyes falling on the short girl still standing by the bench.

Noodle stepped closer and offered him a hand. "I'm Noodle, nice to meet you."

"Oh, Russ." Stu interjected as the two shook hands. "This is Noodle, Murdoc's daughter."

His eyes glimmered with recognition and something else, and for a moment Stu was on his toes waiting to find out if he should run away or hold his ground. "Nice. I'm Russel Hobbs." He adjusted his backpack and his friend quietly sighed in relief. "Are ya takin' care of him?"

She smiled teasingly. "I'm keeping an eye on him, yes."

"Good, this man needs all the help he can get." He chuckled. "Man, I'm starvin' for some real food after a long flight."

Stu took hold of one of his bags. "We should go get some breakfast."

"Is Noodle taggin' along?"

The woman in question shrugged with a slight smirk and spun the car keys around her index finger. "Of course. Who do you think is driving?"


	7. vii

Brought to you by my latest anon hate. Y'all have to thank that person; I've never updated a fanfic so fast in my life. Out of spite no less.

Anyways, with Shikasaku Week over now, I can give this one thing more attention. Enjoy!

* * *

 **vii**

* * *

"Dad, please, this is highly unnecessary." Noodle huffed and stirred her latte, shooting the man sharing a booth with her an apologetic glance. "Alright. Alright." She conceded after five minutes on the phone and sagged her shoulders. "See you in a few."

Russel leaned forward as she put the phone away in her pocket. "Problems with yo' dad?"

She snorted and nodded. "Yeah, he decided to be overprotective now because he couldn't be in my teen years."

"He doesn't like Stu, does he?"

Noodle picked up her cup and took a small sip of her drink. "Oh no, he does, 2D is his prized artist at the moment." Russ lifted a brow at the nickname, but said nothing as she went on. "He just doesn't want me around him."

Humming, he arranged his cutlery nonchalantly around the empty plate set before him. "Do you know why?"

She scoffed. "As if I have a clue."

"Well, I might have an idea."

Noodle snapped her mouth shut, narrowing her eyes at him. Russ held her gaze, painfully unaffected by the glare she clearly inherited from her father, and she hissed. "One word about it to him and you're a dead man, Hobbs."

He made the act of pretending to zip his lips shut. "I'm lettin' him figure it out by himself, darlin'."

"You better." She unfolded the napkin beneath her fork and placed it on her lap daintily. "This is absolutely frustrating. He wasn't this bad when I dated a few guys before."

"He wasn't close to send them away before ya could pursue somethin' serious." Russel commented with a chuckle and decided to drink some of his coffee. "He's trying to prevent that now."

His companion groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. Before they could say anything more, Stuart returned from the restroom, wiping his still damp hands on his jeans and reclaiming his place beside Noodle, as Russel had insisted that he sit there because "he wanted to look at them both while speaking." Taking notice of her agitation, he was about to ask what happened with her father; he left while she was still on the phone with him.

"He's coming over," she revealed simply, and he nodded in understanding.

Stu looked down at his cappuccino, still waiting for it to cool a little before he could drink it. He was hungry and their orders had yet to arrive, so he fell back into a conversation with his long-time friend and the girl he held feelings for. He was not 100% sure if that was really the case, but if the sparks that coursed through his body after an unintentional brush of her fingertips on his skin while she was taking his measures was not a clear sign of it, then he did not know what could be it. Therefore, he had to admit that there was something different between the two of them. Stuart did not care much for romance until someone sparked his interest, and it was so few and far in-between that by the time it happened, he forgot how to identify romantic feelings.

Something must have clicked inside him during the interview and they just connected somehow, somewhat like what had happened with him and Russel long ago. But Noodle was great, daughter of a great musician and an iconic supermodel, she was famous and beautiful, and he was still trying to make a name for himself at nearly forty while missing his front teeth. He had no posture whatsoever and his long and thin limbs made it hard for him to be as graceful and poised as she was. She walked as if on a runway even if she were wearing jeans and Converse shoes like she was in this rainy Sunday morning. He had bruises under his black eyes that made it seem like the sockets were empty at night.

This line of thought brought him back to the first day at El Diablo Records when he found out she would be the one interviewing him and he began worrying that she would be a little kid that would get scared by his looks. He used to feel so confident in the past going out with other girls, but something in her made him feel oddly intimidated. Maybe it was her dad.

The waitress placed their dishes on the center of the table, far too many for only three people, but both Russ and Stu ate just as much as a battalion of soldiers. Noodle pulled closer her plate of French toast and cut up a piece while his friend helped himself to some American style breakfast that was on the menu. "This is what I'm gonna miss most about America."

"Have you ever thought about moving back there?" She inquired before placing the piece of toast in her mouth.

"I suppose working at a record label makes you know a bit about every artist out there, uh?"

Noodle smirked. "Bingo."

"Hah, I knew it." He shook his head, a grin on his face. "I've spent most of my life here. It's my home now."

"You can drop by El Diablo any day if you want." She lowered her fork and knife to the plate. "You can help Stu and me with the music – Oh. Hey, dad."

The two men turned to look at her father, the now retired bass player that ran said company. He seemed as unimpressed as usual and was sending 2D a mild glare, but he quickly wiped that off his face when his daughter scowled at him. Noodle cleared her throat and motioned at him with a hand. "Russ, this is my dad, Murdoc Niccals. Dad, this is Russel Hobbs. He was touring America to promote his new–"

"Yeah, yeah, I've seen it befo'." He dismissed her with a wave of his hands and pointed at Stu with a long, crooked finger. "What are yeh doin' sittin' there? Have some respect."

"Dad, please, not again." She sighed in exasperation. "He's done nothing wrong, just – just sit there and eat, please."

Russel could now understand perfectly why she said before that it was all so frustrating. Peeping at Stuart, he could also see that the man clearly had no idea why Murdoc was acting that way, which was not a very good thing at all. If he at least had a clue, it would help Noodle a bit. He had noticed the side glances he threw at her, the way he looked at her intently when she was speaking. Maybe Stu was aware he liked her, he did not know how much, exactly. Maybe having a clue of Murdoc's animosity would help himself even, because knowing him, Stu had no clue that his feelings for her ran deeper than he imagined.

The rapper swallowed his food and started another friendly conversation with Noodle, easily shifting the tense atmosphere that fell on their table. It was a good thing he came back to England when he did. Maybe he could help these two a bit.


	8. viii

Okay, I know I said I'd give this more attention and all but I had to focus my attention on uni. Sooo sorry for the delay, but the good news is that after the sixth I should have more time for writing and stuff.

Anyways, I heard that 2nu week was about to begin? And tomorrow is Noodle's bday and I have nothing prepared lmao

Enjoy!

* * *

 **viii**

* * *

In the days that followed his return to England, Russel accompanied his best friend on his daily trips to the record label, except for a few rare occasions when he went away to meet with his family or other friends. El Diablo was not a bad place to spend his time; though he had expected it to reek of cigarette smoke, booze and God knows what else, Stu had promised that only Murdoc's office had that distinct smell.

The floor below said Satanist's office had once been occupied by meeting rooms, as explained by Noodle, until the man moved everything somewhere else so his daughter could have some space of her own. The entire place had been remodeled to reminisce her Japanese origins, with red lanterns hanging from the ceiling, delicate floorboards, mostly black and red decoration, and an artificial in-door pond, though how it had been inserted in such a place was a mystery to the rapper. They spent most of their time there chatting, part of the task they had to become familiar with one another until the video shooting.

Russel had danced around the topic of trying to get 2D to ask her out, sometimes steering the on-going conversation to said topic, sometimes asking things out of the blue, but Stu still considered that a bad idea. He was just trying to help his friend, and Noodle. Though he had been the one to first mention it all to the singer, he could see on that rainy Sunday morning that she had taken an interest in his blue-haired friend. Of course, he did not know how deep her infatuation for him ran, but since she had pretty much confirmed it to him, all he could do was try to push them a little closer.

But Stuart would not budge. He would deny any possible feelings for her and refused to ask her out just the two of them. It was always the same string of excuses: a. he liked her too much to want to try something and ruin their friendship; b. he was old; c. his looks were weird. Russel had heard all of those before and knew that none of these things actually mattered to the singer. The actual problem made itself known when Stu mentioned a fourth excuse: d. her dad appeared to hate his guts already.

Why else would her dad be so hostile towards Stu? It was clear that Murdoc knew what was going on in his little girl's heart. Russel had known since the first time he saw the man, but then again, Stu had always been a bit oblivious to these things.

Russel was tired of seeing the sparkle in her eyes dim a little when Stu would say they should go out for drinks – the three of them. He did not take it personally; he knew she liked him as a friend, but he also knew that she wanted to spend some time alone with the airy-headed singer, even if the night would not end with them tangled in bedsheets. Noodle had never mentioned it after breakfast that day, but he could read people well once he knew what was going on in their minds.

That being said, Russel decided to change his tactics. If Stu would not make a move and would much remain oblivious to feelings outsiders could see, but he himself could not, then someone else would have to take the first step. And that someone would be Noodle.

The trio was sitting on the rooftop that day, soaking up some sunshine in an attempt to warm themselves. It was so bloody cold and Noodle, being so small and thin as she was, would not stop shaking like a leaf inside her office/home away from home even with the heater on, so Russel suggested they go up to find some warmth. She agreed and followed after him with a small, square blanket wrapped around her form. 2D accompanied them there and then quickly returned to the lift, claiming he needed to pee, giving the two of them some time to themselves so Russel could steer Noodle in the right direction.

He just waited for the heavy doors to close and spoke, not even giving her a chance to brace herself. "Girl, ya need to make the first move."

Noodle gave him a look, which he read as only mildly incredulous. "Oh, yeah? You know how he is, Russel." She started, sighing in exasperation, and marched away to the nearest bench. "I'd need to spell it out for him. Subtle moves don't work with this one."

He was so damn well aware of that it was painful. "Then do it. Be a little bolder." Russel followed her and flopped down by her side, adjusting his woolen beany so it covered his ears and protected them from the occasional cold breeze. "Most of the time, 2D doesn't know what he's feelin' unless it's basic emotions like pain and fright. He needs some time to figure it out."

"You say it as if you're sure he likes me."

"I might as well be," he replied with a shrug. Russel was not afraid that she would give up tomorrow and leave his friend confused, but he was afraid this would go on for too long, they would get nowhere, she would leave hurt and 2D would only realize it all once it was too late. Of course, he did not say that to her. "Ask him out, Noodle. Maybe if you show openly that you're interested, he'll catch the drift sooner than later."

She pursed her lips, pondering his words, and conceded to them with a slight shrug and a sniffle. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

He grinned widely at her before tilting his head up towards the warm sunrays. They were joined by 2D some minutes later; in his hands, he carried the script for the Revolving Doors music video, which he had been reading over and over the past days like a madman. What he was trying to achieve from that was unclear, but Russel only assumed that he was trying to memorize everything so, by the time the day arrived, he would know what to do without being told, as unlikely as that sounded.

Once the sun disappeared behind the clouds again, they went back to Noodle's floor, which they would soon need to give a codename. When they were not chatting, they were each doing something different. Noodle was usually doodling and working on the outfits for artists signed for her dad's company, Russel was using her laptop watching recipe videos on YouTube or browsing aimlessly, and Stu was messing around with the acoustic guitar and keyboard she kept in her office, if one could call it that. He did not know why it surprised him so much that the daughter of a rock star and owner of a record label knew how to play instruments and sing, just as he did not know why he was so shocked to find that Murdoc could fluently speak Japanese, especially when one took into consideration that he had been married to a Japanese model and had a daughter with her.

When noon rolled around, Russel found the perfect excuse to leave the place, so under the pretenses that he was going out to get them all lunch, he whistled a tune on his way to the elevator and ignored Noodle's glare as it burned a hole on the back of his head. Unbeknownst to him, the pair remained silent for over ten minutes after he had been gone. It was just their luck that he decided to take the longest detour to the farthest away takeout place.

Noodle glanced at her watercolor palette and worried her bottom lip, trying to think over the melody 2D was playing on the keyboard. She needed a good, convincing excuse to ask him out, just the two of them, though considering it was Stu she was talking about, perhaps the excuse did not need to be _that_ convincing.

Oh. Now that made her feel less hesitant about it all. She racked her brain for the perfect day and perfect plan, and thankfully, it all came to her quickly.

"Stu." She called, returning her attention to her most recent piece. Pretending to be nonchalant about it would do wonders for her nerves, which went a little frenzied when she felt his gaze on her. "Are you free this Friday?"

"Hmm? Oh..." He glanced up at the ceiling, catching his tongue between his teeth as he thought. "I suppose. Why's 'at?"

"I was thinking we could meet at my apartment to do some rehearsals or maybe work on some songs."

Noodle, very slowly and very carefully, extended her arm towards the palette, just barely stroking the blue pigment with the tip of her brush. She held her breath, her heart beating painfully in her chest in the elongated silence that fell over them, until he broke it with his reply. "Sure, sounds like a good idea."

"Perfect." She tried not to exhale too loudly or to let her relief seep through her voice. "Be there at seven."


	9. ix

I'm counting the days until I graduate. I've been feeling very spent lately and too lazy to update, but I'm fine. What about you guys? Everything cool? I sure hope so.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **ix**

* * *

Noodle stared at the many clothes inside her closet, idly biting on her nail as she considered her options. She did not know how punctual Stu could be, so she had to act quickly. She had already spent some time applying minimal makeup, filling in her eyebrows and applying the most natural pair of falsies she owned just to add a touch of something to her face. Now, she did not know what to wear.

It was not a question of whether or not it was one of those bad cases in which one would screech "I have nothing to wear!" She simply did not know what to put on. Noodle wanted to look nice, but did not want to go overboard. A skirt and a sweater? A casual pair of jeans and a nice shirt? A jacket? Boots? A dress? What to wear?

She groaned, stalking away from her closet to tidy up the apartment a bit. She lived with her dad. It was one of the conditions presented both by him and her mother that she had to accept if she wanted to move to England, and Noodle did not mind it much. Sometimes, it felt like she lived by herself, except by the nights when they decided to sit together and act as a family for once.

Noodle made a round about the apartment just to make sure none of her father's smelly socks or underwear were shoved in a corner to remain forgotten. She washed the few dishes in the sink, dried and put them away, rearranged the pillows on the couch many times until she was content, poked at paintings on the wall until they were perfectly parallel to the floor, opened the curtains, messed around with the decoration... She was much too anxious for her liking. So much that she hardly recognized herself.

It was seven on the dot when she returned to her room in search for something to wear. By now, Noodle was much too tired, so she grabbed some jeans and a shirt, black everything, and flopped onto bed with a loud sigh. Murdoc had gone away for the weekend, so it left her alone in the ridiculously big apartment that took up the entire top floor. It was extremely unnecessary to live in such a place. Her dad used to be by himself all the time before she moved in with him, what possessed him to buy this was a mystery to her.

She had not bothered to ask Russel for help, but she did ask if there were things that Stu did not eat or was allergic to. Apparently, he was a vegetarian, he had no qualms against drinking alcohol, he liked cheese and was not allergic to peanuts. Noodle spent an entire afternoon at a store trying to find the perfect wine to go with the chunks of cheese she bought. She made a snack platter loaded with mozzarella and parmesan, dried fruits, olives and grapes. She bought some salted peanuts and pretzels for a little texture and crunchiness, placed it all neatly on the table along with crystal glasses.

Noodle frowned at the screen of her mobile phone and tossed it to the empty space on the mattress. She did not want to go overboard with her outfit, but she did pick a menu that was a wee bit too fancy. Maye she should just order some pizza and save it all to eat as snacks throughout the week.

The phone rang and she bolted from her bed, breezing through the hallway towards the device on the wall by the kitchen. It was the gatekeeper, asking for permission to let one Stuart Pot into the building. She did her best to sound composed as she said that yes, she had been expecting him, and calmly hung the phone before panicking. What the actual fuck was wrong with her, she was worse than a teenage girl waiting to go out with her crush on their first date.

It did sound like her current situation, but this was _not_ a date, it was purely professional!

She quickly entered the kitchen area and yanked the fridge open, rummaging through it to find a bottle. Damn what everyone else said, she enjoyed having cool wine and the mere idea of drinking a glass in the five minutes it would take him to arrive was enough to calm her senses. Noodle downed the contents of her glass at once and rinsed it before putting it away into the cabinet and returning the wine bottle to the fridge. She already felt much better just by knowing that some alcohol was about to course its way through her body, and it felt wonderful.

The doorbell rang and she made her way to it, taking in a deep breath and smiling brilliantly as she opened the door.

* * *

Stu had not expected to walk into an apartment this huge and he was a little embarrassed to admit that he spent an awful lot of time looking out the window at the city below. He snacked a lot on the food platter she set on the coffee table of the living room, the both of them sipping wine and going over the script of the music video that would be put into action soon. It was the last weekend before the shooting began and he was looking forward to it anxiously.

He brought a file with him, overflowing with papers haphazardly thrown in there in his rush to actually be somewhere in time for once. Russel had made sure to kick his ass out of his apartment with plenty of time for him to drive over to her apartment building, find a spot to park and then kill some time idly looking around the streets or flipping some magazines at the lobby. The papers were just some drafts for upcoming songs that he came up with, few verses that were too raw and messy to be turned into a demo just yet.

They spent most of the night talking about the lyrics, going over some of them until they had perfected them for the time being and trying to work out a nice melody. Noodle got her black acoustic guitar from her bedroom and sat on the other end of the couch, plucking and strumming away and constantly asking for his thoughts and opinions. All he could really think of was that she was great at this and the idea of expressing that thought aloud left him more flustered than when she was complementing the lyrics he created.

After a long while, they settled for a good tune, though the acoustic guitar was not quite the best instrument for it. "I fink we could use a melodica fo' 'is one."

Noodle looked up from the paper of the unfinished lyrics of a song titled _broken_ written in scrawny letters and met his gaze. "Do you know how to play it?"

He nodded. "Not perfect yet, but I want to use it mo' often in other albums."

"Teach me sometime?" She asked with a coy smile and he nodded once again in reply, only this time he felt completely dumb as he did so and very thirsty.

Stu downed some of his wine as she returned her attention to the instrument in her hands, replaying the tune and writing it down on a blank sheet of paper she got from the printer in the office room. He plucked some green grapes from the stem and popped them in his mouth, chewing and swallowing before saying. "Yer dad's not 'ere?"

He had some concerns as to what would possibly happen if the man returned to his home and found him there. Of all the outcomes that he imagined, none of them ended prettily. He still did not know why he was treated that badly by the Satanist. It was not like he had taken Russel's advice and asked her to go out with him. Stu had not crossed any boundaries yet, whatever they were, and he had been courteous to her. Murdoc started acting strangely after the rooftop episode and for some reason sent her back to Japan for some days. Why? What did they talk about?

Noodle paused her playing to annotate a couple of notes on the musical sheet she drew herself with straight, even lines. "Nope. He won't return till Sunday evening."

Oh. He blinked stupidly. "Can I... Ask why?"

"It's my dad. I'd rather not know what he's up to." She flashed him a grin and adjusted the acoustic guitar on her lap, placing her fingers on the chords and resuming the song from where she left off. He laughed at her and watched on as her lithe fingers played it out seamlessly.

Murdoc was out of town. This was the best shot he would ever get to ask her out. Russ would actually kill him if he let this opportunity pass. Stu breathed in deeply, steeling his nerves. He did not need to mention the word _date_ , he just had to ask her to accompany him to... The movies. No, no, the movies would give it away. He needed to think of something, something that did not involve coffee. God, was he bad at this. A walk in the park? If only he had a dog... Maybe they could go the shopping mall. Or to an arcade. Did she even like games? What did she even like?

Dear Lord, he was starting to sweat. He had no idea of what she liked! She was into fashion and music, yeah, but how he could use them to his favor? There were no concerts scheduled for the weekend to use as an excuse, and he honestly knew near to nothing about fashion, so trying to use that as a way to approach her was out of question.

"Noodle."

Shit, he was still confused and lost, why the hell did he open his big mouth? Noodle actually stopped playing as the seconds ticked by and he said nothing else. She looked at him, at his face and his mouth that opened and closed like a fish out of water. God, was he the sight right now. At least she was not laughing, yet.

"Would yeh..." Stu needed to get out of this fast. With his mind reeling, he cleared his throat and continued. "Would yeh play the guitar fo' me in my upcomin' albums?"

She blinked at him, lips parted, and smiled beautifully, her eyes creasing almost lovingly as she held his gaze. "I would love to."


	10. x

I knooow it's been forever, but I finally pushed myself to update this. Cutesy stuff and we're getting somewhere in this. If there are any reviews I haven't replied yet, I'll try to get to them this weekend. I'm just trying to rest whenever I can because these last few weeks were stressful. I do hope everything's fine with you all, though!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **x**

* * *

Shooting for the music video was... Interesting to say the least. If the El Diablo building was not as tall as American skyscrapers, it made up for its lack of height in length and depth. There were more rooms than he could care to count and most of them were large. They currently occupied one of the three shooting studios where a green screen backdrop was placed behind a scenic apartment that Murdoc's crew put up together for the video.

It was a bit awkward singing along to his own song and voice playing in the background whilst staring out the window at the bright green background where they would later add digital effects and footage from Boston and London, and having many people watching him only made him feel more nervous and anxious. Well, it would only get worse once he had to sing to hundreds of people on stage, right?

The director was content with four rounds of him singing while doing random things in the apartment, and after claiming they had enough footage of him alone, dismissed everyone else for lunch break while the crew put down the apartment and built another one for scenes with Noodle. She had been present all the time, watching from behind the cameras and trying hard not to grin at him when he accidentally caught her eyes. Murdoc was there as well, calm and silent for the time being. Russel was present, too, feeling immensely happy for his friend.

After a lunch shared with Russel and Noodle – and Murdoc – they returned to the studio and were immediately ushered towards the makeup artists. Stu's makeup and outfit as a whole were a little simpler than hers, so he was back to pacing around the fake apartment until she was ready to join him. He was so absorbed admiring the round aquarium with a lone goldfish to hear her coming closer and jumped when she struggled to wrap an arm around his neck and yanked him down to her level.

"Smile!" She exclaimed, already posing for the selfie she was about to take with her phone. He flashed the device a wavering smile and looked at her in confusion once the picture was snapped and she began typing a caption. "I'm promoting you, silly. I need to build up the high with my followers."

Stu nodded dumbly and looked down at her outfit, immediately regretting it. Noodle was wearing one of the dress shirts she designed for him, the first two buttons undone and showing a bit of cleavage. Not only that, but he could see a very short black shorts beneath the light pink fabric and that was that. She had no shoes, no pants on; only his dress shirt and a pair of tight shorts.

Upon remembering the rest of the script, he could suddenly feel Murdoc's heavy, irritated gaze burning a hole on the back of his head.

He took a deep breath and shook his long limbs before walking to the center of the living room, waiting for further instructions from the director. Shooting with her was not so hard, at first. All they had to do was sit by the round dining table and nibble at the breakfast food, talk and laugh a little, feel her touch on his skin when she reached his hand, caress his fingers through her hair and give her his best adoring smile. If the makeup artist had not applied foundation to his face, however thin the layer was, he would be a shade between tomato red and beet purple right now.

Hugging her from behind as she sipped from a cup of coffee as the both of the looked out the window at "London" was a bit trickier. Stu swore he could hear her father grumbling lowly behind them, could almost feel him breathing down his neck and threatening to break his arms if he did not let go and step away from her now. Noodle sighed in contentment and snuggled closer to him; he, in response, snuggled right back.

Up until that point, it was fine, or as fine as it could be, but once Stu found himself sitting on the bed, he could not move anymore. She was already laying down, looking up at his face and waiting for him to lay as well, but he would not budge. Frowning, she sat up and turned to the director. "Could we do this part using the remote control feature?" The man snapped his sharp eyes in her direction and raised an eyebrow. "He's not comfortable with so many people here."

Murdoc, who had been glaring at the singer until that moment, turned to look at her at breakneck speed and opened his mouth to protest – and shut his mouth with a roll of his eyes at the glare she shot him instead. With a huff, he was the first to walk out of the studio through another door, the rest of the camera operators, the director himself and Russel following. It was then that Stu looked up from his hands to see everyone exiting and all was quiet for about a minute after the door closed behind them.

"Don't worry." He stilled, breath hitching. He never heard her moving closer to him and now she was whispering so close to his ear and her hands were ghosting over his arms and bare shoulders. "They're in an adjacent room. They can see us through a well-hidden window. This is sort of like a recording pit." Stu nodded slowly, swallowing to try to wet his suddenly drenched throat, and she pulled away from him. "Come. We've been here all day and we're almost over."

Noodle lowered herself to the mattress, back turned to him, waiting for him to follow suit. At a much slower pace, Stu laid down on his side and tentatively wrapped an arm around her middle. Breathing out through his nose, his breath fanned the shell of her ear and she shivered under his touch. He swallowed again; this was going to be so hard and he had to make it seem natural. Nodding to himself, he settled his face on the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply, catching the scent of peach and plum on her skin and hair.

"Can they hear us?" He asked in a murmur. She hummed absentmindedly, barely shaking her head as her fingers laced with his.

Damn, he could easily get used to this. They were lying together for less than a full minute and his eyes were already heavy, his body surrendering to the exhaustion after a long day. Stu moved his head, found a patch of pale skin that was not covered by his shirt and placed his lips there. Soft. So, so soft. He placed another kiss, another and another, light as a feather, yet she was quivering and goosebumps rose on her arms and legs.

With great effort, Noodle turned around to face him, searching his face and trying to read his eyes. Hers were as cloudy as his felt, he could see that. His hand slipped beneath the shirt and rested on her lower back, applying pressure to pull her closer. She felt her lashes fluttering and hid her face in his chest, the scent of butterscotch overtaking her senses, and she tried to feel its taste on her lips. As her mouth met his sternum, Stu felt the need to have no space between them. He was growing aroused, which would only lead to embarrassing moments in the future, but she did not seem to mind the closeness in one bit. In fact, her arm tightened around him.

Noodle inched up, lips travelling to his collarbones then to his neck and finally to his chin and jaw. His hand moved up the gentle curve of her waist, barely brushing against the side of her breast, his fingers curling around her dark locks and pulling her face away from him. He stared deeply into her eyes, hooded and hazy, wanting nothing more than to just dip his head and capture her lips. Something told him that it was not a smart idea, though he could not remember why. His entire mind was focused on her chest against his, the warmth of her body and the sensation of her nails grazing the skin of his back.

"Stu..." Her voice was so small and quiet as if afraid to disrupt the moment. "Do you..."

"No – I – Lemme..." He cut in, never breaking eye contact, licking his lips and trying to gather his thoughts. He had to do it himself. These light kisses and careful touches were not in the script. She was doing this on her own and he was under the impression that it was not part of the act. "Will yeh go out wif me?"

Every time she smiled, the expression was prettier than the last. She seemed so relaxed, yet at the same time so delighted, sharing a bed with him and running her fingers up and down his spine lazily. "I would love to." The words were so familiar to him, but he could only concentrate on her, on her lips and her eyes, on her touch that was so distracting.

Stu could see in her face that she was thinking over something in her head, softly biting down on her lower lip and pinching her eyebrows. He had a pretty good idea of what it was, he was wondering and imagining the same thing. The idea of kissing her right now was so appealing that he almost forgot people were watching them from somewhere and that cameras were recording everything they were doing. He would much rather live another day than have Murdoc strangle him now. He had finally gotten the chance to ask her on a date and he did not want to die before going out with her.

Noodle parted her lips, her mind finally made up, but never got the chance to say anything. The door slammed open and they both were startled out of their skins, sitting up in a haste to see Murdoc marching over to them in quick, long strides and Russel trying to keep up with him. The once bassist and now businessman was standing by her side of the bed in a second, glaring down at him, actually hissing at the singer. At least he was not trying to pull her away from Stu, Noodle thought with a groan and a roll of her eyes, and decided to stand up so the man would stop acting like an overly jealous and protective father.

She allowed herself to be led away, just barely managing to look over her shoulder at a bewildered Stu and mouthed the words _call me_ to him. She hoped he caught her drift; Russel stepped in her line of sight before she could see if he had understood her. Now turning to the man escorting her away, she said lowly. "Dad, I've dated people before. I'm not the six year old girl I used to be before you and mom divorced and you left."

"I know, love." He said gravely, frowning at nothing in particular and sighing in defeat. "Yer still me little girl, though."

Noodle smiled ruefully at him and circled an arm behind his back. "Oh dad..."


	11. xi

Posting this before my relatives arrive for the weekend. Happy Holidays, everyone! Really hoping you all will have a good time, and that you'll also stay safe, warm if it's cold where you live, and that you'll have food on your table. Times have been rough for so many people, I can only wish that this time of the year will bring some peace and happiness to some of you, if that's what you need.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **xi**

* * *

Stu had been looking at his reflection on the full-body mirror hanging behind his bedroom door for some good ten minutes now. Stepping back, he would try to analyze his outfit from every angle; stepping forward, he would check his face, pull at the bruised skin beneath his black eyes and try to tame his wild blue hair. No such luck. He liked his outfit, but maybe she would not like the high waisted, faded jeans and black shirt combination. He looked down at his pink socks and frowned. He wanted to impress her, but the closest things to a fancier outfit he owned were the suits he wore when he used to work as a lawyer. He did not want to overdo it, but still...

He felt the beginning of a dull throbbing on his head and sighed. Just great. Stu had the luck of not crossing paths with her when his headaches and migraines were at their worst and he had to numb himself with painkillers. He needed to take some medicine for the pain, but his usual pills were too strong and he did not want to be completely out of it on their first date. Perhaps there was something of a lower dosage in his bedside stand.

Russel was watching a documentary in his living room when Stu walked past him towards the kitchen, debating if he should cut the small round aspiring in half just in case it was not as light as he thought. They lived in the same apartment building, though their homes were on different floors, still they were always hanging at each other's apartments when the chance arose. Russ looked at the singer from his place on the couch before standing to join him in the kitchen.

"Yo, dude. How're ya feelin'?"

Stu pulled a drawer open and rummaged around for a knife. "I'm very nervous." He felt that the question was purely unnecessary for his hands were visibly shaking.

"I can see that." Russ mused and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Breathe, man. It's gonna be alright. I'm very happy for ya."

He managed to cut the aspiring in half and swallowed a piece dry, making a face at the odd taste it left in his mouth. "Fanks, Russ." He cut another two and wrapped a napkin around them, pocketing the bundle just in case he needed it.

Stu had not called her as she asked, but instead had sent a text message; that way, he would not make a fool of himself if he started stuttering and his voice cracked. Besides, he could send screenshots to Russ, or simply show him the text he got if they were together, and ask for advice. It was his first real date in a long, long while and it made him extremely anxious. He was experienced in having one-night stands with girls he met in clubs and bars, but this was a foreign terrain. Stu really liked Noodle and did not want to blow this up.

He was standing outside her apartment building at seven in the evening sharp on a Saturday and the gatekeeper let him inside without much fuss. Noodle had probably warned the man that he would be coming, and he smiled politely at him as he made his way to the elevator, pressing the button to the last floor and playing with the buttons of his shirt to keep himself occupied. Walking the few steps towards her door, Stu rang the doorbell and waited.

The door opened to reveal Murdoc wearing a striped shirt with many holes in it and, for once, the man was not glaring at him, but he was leveling him up and down with a critical stare. "Yeh come take me daughter out... And come empty-'anded?"

Stu was horrified, eyes getting impossibly wide and mouth falling open. He forgot to bring her a gift; flowers, chocolate, _anything_ , he completely forgot to bring her something. Murdoc stepped aside and motioned for the man to come inside, trying hard not to snicker at the look on his face, and shut the door. He offered the singer a drink, which he declined, and told him to sit in the living room as Murdoc fetched himself a beer from the fridge, saying Noodle was going to be ready any moment now.

Murdoc sat at the other end of the couch in a slouched position and loudly sipped his beer, placing his feet on the coffee table and flicking through the channels on the tv. He looked at Stu from the corner of his eyes, sighed, and rested the half-empty can on his alcohol-swollen stomach. "Relax." He said gruffly, eyes back to the screen, and the singer lifted his head to look at him. "She's not gonna mind it."

He had been silently berating himself for being so careless from the moment he arrived, wringing his hands and blinking his eyes rapidly as he refused to cry in frustration. Stu wanted this to work out so much he would die if it went wrong. Okay, maybe not die, but he would surely hole himself up in his bedroom for a couple of days in a depressive state.

"I 'onestly don' know what she sees in yeh." Murdoc went on, now frowning at the television. "But I can' tell 'er what to do with 'er life." He downed the rest of his beer and tossed the empty can carelessly aside. "To me she's still tha child I left behind in Japan... Didn' get tha chance to accompany 'er relationships closely..." The distant look he had on his face lasted for a couple of seconds more until he blinked hazily and turned to look at Stu with a scowl. "But now I got the chance, and if yeh fuck it up, I'm comin' for yer life, yeh hear?"

Stu nodded quickly in understanding, lifting his hands to show he meant no harm. Murdoc only looked away when he heard footsteps approaching and turned to face the door to the hallway, and shortly after Noodle crossed the threshold. Dressed in a simple, but beautiful, dark blue dress and a modest pair of heels, she was looking through her minimalist handbag as she walked into the living room. "Dad, I can't find my keys a- Oh, Stu! Hi!"

He was frozen in place, silently taking her in. She had done her makeup, a sharp and thin eyeliner that complimented her features nicely, and her short wavy hair was a nice change from the usual straight, messy look she always wore. Murdoc lifted an eyebrow and rose to his feet, picking a stray hair that fell on her shoulder and flicking it away. "Yeh can take mine, love. Yers are in tha car."

"Ugh, I keep forgetting them there." She looked from her dad to her date, who was now up and smiling nervously down at her.

"So, um, ready to go?"

Noodle nodded and took a step closer to her father to kiss him on the cheek. "Bye, dad, don't forget to eat."

"Call me if anythin' 'appens." He said to their retreating backs, feeling more helpless than he looked. The door closed behind them and he looked around the empty room at a loss of what to do. Turning the tv off, he reached for his phone and searched for a name in his contacts list. Murdoc hardly ever called his ex-wife, preferring to stick to emails as a way to keep in touch, but called her anyways uncaring if it was an ungodly hour over in Japan. He was internally freaking out.

The elevator doors slid closed and Noodle put away the keys inside her bag, zipping it closed. "Stu." He looked down at her with a wavering smile. "You're sweating more than my dad in a church."

He could not help but laugh at that. "Sorry, love."

Shaking her head, she weaved her fingers with his and laid her cheek on his arm, pressing herself to his side. "You're so silly." Shrugging, he bent down to press his lips to the crown of her head, heart fluttering in his chest. He was really looking forward to tonight.


	12. xii

Hey hey! How's the new year going so far? Hopefully, you're all well. Here we have the first update of the year, moving closer to the end of the story, and they're making some progress /eye emoji/

Enjoy!

* * *

 **xii**

* * *

Knowing that Noodle was younger than him, Stu was half expecting her to take him to a club or something of the like, and while he did not mind those places, he would rather not go to one tonight. He wanted to properly talk to and get to know her, and the loud music buzzing in his ears coupled with a sure migraine that would morph from the faint pulsing in his brain would not help his case. So he was very much pleased when she led him to a bistro not too far from her apartment building. The space was bathed in an orangeish glow from the overhead lights and a few lit candles composing the perfect atmosphere for his overly sensitive eyes. She had a table for two reserved for them under her name and together they sat in a more secluded area of the small restaurant.

It was just a matter of seconds until they were approached by an elderly attendant who passed each of them a menu. "Ah, Madame Niccals. Such an honor to have you here with us tonight."

Noodle smiled up at the man from where she sat. "I thought we were supposed to be on first name basis by now, Richard."

"Old habits die hard, my dear." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and directed his gaze to Stu. "And you've finally brought along a handsome young man with you."

"Yes, yes." She snickered slightly at the singer's flushed face. "Quite handsome, isn't he? He's my date." Patting his hand gently from across the table, she flashed him a grin before sitting back once more.

Richard nodded his head and twisted his lips, making his mustache move along. "Would you like to see the wine chart?"

"Actually, bring us your finest bottle, please." Noodle absentmindedly traced her fingertips over Stu's knuckles. "We'll be staying here for a while."

Once the attendant was gone, Stu gave her a smile and opened the menu, looking through the dishes listed there calmly. Judging by the description, most of them seemed delicious, so he would have a hard time trying to pick just one. Peeking at her from over the booklet when she started speaking, Noodle mentioned choosing an appetizer first so the night would last longer. He liked the sound of that, so Stu flipped a few pages back and began reading the names in his head.

"Hmm..." He jerked back when he noticed her staring at him and flushed instantly. He did not mean to make any sounds. "I jus'... Really like mozzarella sticks."

Noodle giggled slightly and placed down the closed menu. "We can order some, alright."

Richard returned in that moment with a bottle of wine that he corked open on the spot, and filled the tall glasses on the table with the crimson liquid. He smiled at the young woman's praise and annotated the order of their appetizer, mentioning that they could call him anytime if they wanted to order something more before leaving the couple alone. Noodle sipped the wine, her gaze on the singer's face as his eyes examined the interior of the building curiously. It was decorated with the basics a restaurant should have, except maybe for a vase of flowers by the entrance and a painting or two on the wall. Its simplicity made him wonder that maybe he should throw some things out and transform his apartment into something as organized and easy on the eyes as this.

The chances of that happening were low, though.

When he looked back at her, Noodle was just placing her cellphone back into her handbag with a slight exasperated expression on her face and a soft smile on her lips at the same time. He had no doubts that her dad had just sent her a message inquiring on her whereabouts or something of the like. Stu had to admit that he would have done the same thing if he had a daughter as lovely as her going out with a man like himself... Or any man, really.

That brought him back to a topic he had been debating in his head ever since the shooting for the music video, and from much back as well, for he had wondered something similar a few times before that. Noodle was lovely and great and so smart. Whatever had she seen in someone such as himself? Despite the oddity of his appearance, he did not think he looked that bad in all honesty, but in his worst days when he was so drugged on painkillers that he could not even form a coherent sentence he had absolutely nothing to offer. And she was not even aware that he had many problems because of the accidents. Would she change her mind if she knew?

Feeling a sudden bolt of bravery, Stu cleared his throat and shifted to get more comfortable, drawing her eyes to his face. They would talk about that now, but he would have to approach the topic subtly. "What exactly did yeh see in me?"

 _Subtly_ being the key word.

By the time Noodle had recovered from the shock and regarded him with a funny look, Stu had already kicked himself mentally about five times and was ready to get up and leave to save himself from more humiliation. "I don't think you're asking me this because you're insecure or don't feel confident about yourself as a whole." She started, her fingertip running along the rim of her glass. "Whatever your reason is, well, I took an instant liking to you. You were so sweet."

"I... Really?" So she thought he was nice from the start just like he had. Good.

Noodle nodded. "Yes, that, and once I heard your singing, I just... I couldn't believe what I was hearing!" She laughed lightly with her face hidden in her palms and then brushed her fringe aside. "Your voice was unbelievable and I fell in love with it. I listened to the songs all night long and had them stuck in my head for the next days. I was like 'oooh no, I can't be crushing on him', but then we ran into each other in the elevator and..." Noodle sighed, her gaze was soft and her smile was lovely, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight. "And you were so happy that I liked your songs and I just knew."

The tips of her ears were pink. Her blush did not show on her face because of her makeup, but the tiny bit of it he could see was enough to set his insides on fire. He was speechless to say the least, fishing around his brain for words to say that would sound as beautiful as hers, but found nothing. All he could think of was Russel telling him to ask her out and all the times he had ignored any possible signs his heart was giving him that he liked her a bit too much, but never dared describe it as love.

"Fanks," he said finally, and then added as he reached for her from where he sat. "For complimentin' me voice, I mean." Noodle giggled lightly and gently placed her hands on his upturned palms. "I'm bad at romance in the beginnin'. Russ would insist that I was infatuated wif yeh and whatnot, but I wouldn' listen."

She rose her eyebrows. "You told him about me?"

"I told him 'bout the interview an' tha' I liked tha sound of your laugh." Stu explained, his thumb running circles on the back of her hand. "He said I never comment on 'ose little fings unless I really like tha person. I, o' course, said 'e was bein' stupid an' didn' listen."

Noodle laughed and touched a palm to her face self-consciously. "I'm glad I listened to his advice and invited you to go to my house, then."

Stu felt his mouth falling open. "I can'... I can' believe tha little shit was playin' matchmaker all alon'."

"You don't know the half of it," she said with a snicker. "He got me cornered that day when he arrived, could read me like an open book. I told him to keep his mouth shut or else."

The singer looked down at their hands with a grin, his shoulders shaking from the laughing. "And... Yer dad?"

Noodle sighed lightly again and tilted her head to the side. "That day on the rooftop, my dad asked me why I was always so pissed when he was rude towards you. I can't say I made a mistake, but I told him that I liked you. Really liked you. He threw a fit." She shook her head at the memory, holding his gaze evenly. "He wasn't mad because you're older or because your hair is blue or whatever reason one could come up with. He was mad because I actually liked someone."

He nodded his head in understanding. "An' he couldn' stand tha thought o' losin' 'is baby girl to some other guy."

"Exactly." She traced circles on his palm as she spoke. "He has other kids from other marriages, but I'm really the only daughter he has, so... Sorry he was being a jerk to you."

"No worries." Stu assured her with a smile. "I understand."

Another attendant interrupted them that moment when he placed their appetizer on the center of their table and left with a smile. They did not talk much about that anymore, and instead focused on other topics such as their favorite movies and tv shows. Noodle enjoyed tv series about cops, terrorists, crime and such, and named a few of her favorite ones for him to watch. He told her about his love for zombie movies and everything horror, making her quirk an eyebrow and promise to watch one of his favorites with him.

Stu ordered himself a dish of chicken that had Noodle asking about his vegetarian status. "I jus' don' eat red meat," he explained, and so she ordered one with salmon so they could split. Slowly, they drank most of the bottle of wine before the main dishes were served, and afterwards he watched as she helped herself to some dessert. Watched as in ogling, because he could not stop staring at her tongue as she licked the ice cream that accompanied her _petit gateau_ off her lips. Damn, was it enticing. He could only hope that she had not noticed him almost drooling at the sight.

The night ended much too soon for the both of them. They walked back to her building, the chill night air giving him the perfect opportunity to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close, just to keep her warm, he told himself. Noodle was more than happy to press herself to his side as they walked, and kept such close proximity as they waited for the elevator. Stu would gladly accompany her to her very doorstep if that meant he could spend some more time with her. Needless to say, he was a bit saddened when the doors opened and revealed the small lobby of her floor.

Instead of peeling herself away from him right away, Noodle simply moved until her chest was tightly pressed to his, her arms woven around his waist as she looked up at him. He ran the back of two fingers along the side of her face, gazing down at her softly and debating if he should take an extra step and kiss her. He wanted to do that so much, feel her lips on his, taste her. Slowly, Stu lowered his face to hers, keeping eye contact until her eyelids fluttered and fell shut, her lips parting in anticipation. He paused for a second to take it in, commit this to memory, and advanced, gently brushing his mouth over hers at first.

He heard as her breath hitched, and she hummed in contentment as she stood on her tiptoes to apply more pressure to their kiss. With her arms now wrapped around his neck, she walked backwards until she was trapped between his body and the wall, a noise of approval resounding in her throat when he grabbed her hips firmly and pressed her against the structure. Noodle opened her mouth when he traced his tongue on the seam of her lips, her own hungrily seeking for his. She tugged at his hair with a whine, releasing his blue locks so her hands could grab a hold of the end of her dress and tug it upwards. Stu was ready to lift her up when her phone started ringing, mercilessly forcing them apart to stare at each other.

Noodle blindly searched for her phone, gaze flickering away from his face to see who was calling her. No one other than her dad. With a sigh, she pressed the device to her forehead and closed her eyes tightly, her knuckles now white. "It's okay, love." He assured her, even if he did want to keep going.

She looked up at him with a sullen smile. "I'm sorry." Reaching up, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "I should get inside before he – Oh, here it is." Her ringtone reached their ears halfway through her sentence, and they sighed in unison. "Call me once you get home, okay?"

Stu let his lips linger on her forehead and replied. "Okay. Talk to yeh soon."

"Bye." Noodle gave him a happier smile than the last and stood by the door of her apartment until the metallic doors of the lift closed and she had no other option than to go back inside.


	13. xiii

Hello again. Here I am spicing things up a notch. I had some opportunities to write smut, so I gladly took them. Hope you like!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **xiii**

* * *

They did not say or acknowledge it aloud, but they were officially dating, had been for about two weeks now. Murdoc was less hostile towards Stu now, and Russel often seemed to be patting himself on the back whenever he spotted the couple together doing anything. Stu had long ago forgotten what it was like to be on a stable relationship with mutual respect and feelings, so to him it felt like she was his first girlfriend ever. They did refer to one another as girlfriend and boyfriend, Noodle being the first to do it when her dad was complaining about having him over at their house (for the second time, but he did not know it), much to the singer's happiness.

No one but the four of them knew about this relationship and, well, maybe her mother and his parents knew about it, but still. Inside El Diablo Records and on the streets most of the time, they were purely professional. Stu figured that maybe it was much too soon to announce it to each of her dad's employees, so he was not much bothered when she only greeted him with a smile when more people were in the same room. "I don't want them to know just yet," she had explained once after breaking from a kiss when they found themselves alone. He was okay with that.

However, despite her wishes, online articles started popping up a few days ago. Noodle, daughter of a top model and a musician, bearer of fashion and music skills she took after both her parents, spotted walking with a man the other night. Social media star Noodle seen walking hand in hand with new boo. It did not take long for them to analyze the pictures taken by the paparazzi and realize that the man in question was Stu, the very same man she had posted a picture with a while ago on her Instagram page. People started shipping them as if they were fictional characters; Stu was slightly scared and she was disgusted.

The media began to pay more attention to them once the Revolving Doors music video and single were released. Stills from the video of the two lying in bed together were seen everywhere. The Instagram pages the El Diablo marketing team made for him and his "band" received thousands of followers overnight, news reporters asked Murdoc incessantly about the two of them, annoying him to the point in which he cut the monthly conference short and left spewing curses at them all, and paparazzi followed the singer on the streets. Noodle and Murdoc were handling the attention fairly well. Not used to being in the limelight, Stu was getting increasingly stressed and started taking a few more pills than necessary.

It was because of that that Noodle once found him spacing out in her office one day, reacting to her words or her touches far too slowly. He had tried to explain as much as his fogged brain would allow that he often took medicine for his migraines, among other things such as anxiety. After embracing him and kissing his forehead, she excused herself and left the room. Some time later, Russel and Murdoc stormed in, turned on the television and watched intently as Noodle sat in the conference room with many cameras aimed at her, reporters sitting in the chairs with mics and notepads in hand.

Stu lifted his head up and his eyesight focused just in time to see Noodle rub at her forehead tiredly and then have a resolute sparkle flash in her eyes. "I called you all here for a last minute emergency conference to announce that, yes, Stuart Pot and I are dating." Her next sentence was cut short as the other people present jumped from their seats and readied themselves to ask her far too many questions. "That is all you need to know, so be quiet." She reprehended them harshly, making her father smile proudly at the tv screen. "He's not used to this much attention, so leave him alone. If I find out anyone was standing outside his apartment building or following him around, you'll have to deal with me and my dad."

Murdoc crossed his arms with a pleased smirk on his face and nodded in agreement. Using his reputation as a follower of an evil force was the best way to get people out of his way, and adding Noodle's well-known physical strength and agility to that made people a little more fearful. Thankfully, people heeded her words. They left him alone for the most part, and fewer and fewer online articles making speculations about them were published. Stu went back to his usual dosage a few days later, once again feeling much better and a little more like himself now that he was not as drugged.

In the wake of their fourth week together as a couple, Stu was enjoying a morning cigarette before work on a Wednesday when there was a knock on his door. Fearing someone had decided to pursue him in his own apartment, he quietly tiptoed his way to the door and spied through the peephole, sighing in relief when he saw only Noodle there. He opened the door for her with a smile, did not bother to put on a shirt. She was all dressed up with a coat, high-heeled boots, a scarf and all that, her makeup completely done and her hair styled prettily. What a sight. "Hey, love." Stu motioned for her to enter his mess of a home and closed the door once she was inside.

"Hey." She gave him a kiss and stepped away. "Sorry to come so early in the morning."

"Don' worry." He brushed her concern off, but still she seemed a bit... Sad. "What's wrong?"

Noodle was pacing around slowly as she examined the many things in his living room. "I got a call late last night from a video game developer. They want me to play guitar for the soundtrack of a new game they'll release later this year."

"Wow, Noodle. That's really great!" That was so cool! He would hear the songs and say "yep, my girlfriend played this."

She nodded in agreement. "The problem is," she began, turning around to look at him. "I'll have to go back to Japan."

The smile on his face fell and his shoulders dropped. These things... Took time. It took him a while to finish his album and it had only fifteen tracks, some of which were only instrumentals. Recording for a video game... "How long?" He asked in a whisper.

"I don't know. A month, at least." Her heart was breaking inside her chest. He looked so helpless. Noodle immediately crossed the space between them and grabbed his hands. "I promise we'll keep in touch. I'll call you when we both have some free time and I'll try to come and visit, I promise."

It hurt to know they would be apart for so long, but he could not ask her to ditch this opportunity just to stay with him. It was part of her career. He would have to go on tours eventually and maybe she would not be able to tag along. Being separated would become something normal at some point. So Stu gently cupped her face and pecked her lips. "I know," he murmured. "You'll do great."

Noodle let him kiss her once more before opening her eyes to say. "I told the driver that this could take a while."

He quickly understood the meaning of her words, dipping his head to capture her lips in a hungry kiss that had her grabbing the back of his neck to keep up. Stu directed her to his couch, his mouth working against her relentlessly, his body falling down to the soft brown cushions with her. He shuddered when her cold fingers traced his bare torso, his own loosening the scarf from around her neck so his lips could tease the skin there. Noodle was writhing beneath him, pressing her breasts to his chest, her legs parted to better accommodate him, her hips shifting restlessly. Her dress rode up her legs, revealing the end of her thigh high socks and her lacy underwear.

She was panting, little sounds coming from her that made him harder by the second. Stu pulled back to look at her, his hands caressing the exposed bit of soft skin of her thighs. She was quite the sight with her short hair sprawled around her head messily, her blush finally showing through her foundation even if just a little. He wanted nothing more than to take his sweet, sweet time exploring every inch of her skin before taking her slowly until she was begging for more. He would gladly comply with his own desires had a part of his brain, somehow still conscious and unaffected by the current situation, not reminded him that she had a plane to catch.

With a slight groan rumbling in his throat, Stu inched his fingers closer to her inner thighs and traced his digit over her sex, the thin material of her panties remaining as the only barrier between them. Noodle hissed, her teeth catching her bottom lip and her eyes watching his face with earnest. The couch was hardly big enough for the both of them the way he wanted, still the singer positioned himself so he could slip his hand beneath the lace, feeling the texture of her fine hairs until his fingers touched her warm, wet lower lips.

Her reaction was instantaneous. Noodle sucked in a sharp breath and shuddered as her mouth fell open and her hands tried to hold onto anything available. Stu intently watched as her eyes squeezed shut, her hips jerking randomly beneath his working fingers. He could easily get used to this, to the faces she made, to her heat, to her moans. He was torturing himself by touching her with his hands only, neglecting other parts of his body, getting a sample of what could happen one day.

One finger slipped inside her and she arched her back, letting out a drawn out moan that made his hairs stand on end. Stu was so painfully aroused, his erection begging to be set free from his boxers and jeans, and he somehow ignored it so he could focus on pleasuring her instead, which was easy considering that he could not peel his eyes away from her form. Just as he added a second finger to her entrance, Noodle was matching the pace of his ministrations, moving her hips up and down in sync and whispering his name in a voice that was so lustful and needy that he was beginning to lose his own composure.

Once she began moving as well, it seemed she was getting closer to the edge. His name was like a mantra on her tongue as she repeated it without stopping, her breath hitching as her body began to tense around his fingers. And finally she came, her body twitching and spasming until she was left lying on the couch limply, watching through half-lidded eyes as her boyfriend brought his fingers to his mouth and tasted her.

With effort, Noodle moved and laid on her side, her elbow supporting her weight, and reached for the fly of his pants, only to be stopped by him. "I don' fink there's nuffink yeh can do right now, love." He explained when she gave him a questioning look, which was soon replaced by realization. He came, hard, in his pants as he touched her, and she did not even realize. The victorious grin she had on her face would not disappear so soon, though she wished she could have seen the faces he could have made.

Noodle sat up and kissed him slowly and briefly. "You made it much harder for me to leave, you know."

"It won' be easy seein' yeh go, y'know." He countered, she nodded; fair enough.

He prepared some coffee, serving hers in a mug that Russel bought in one of the many souvenirs shops in New York City. She sipped it contently, sitting fully dressed on his lap in his small kitchen, purring ever so often as he traced mindless patterns on her spine. Walking out of his apartment and leaving him behind was not easy, but it had to be done. Noodle just did not know that 2D could see from his bedroom window as she entered the black car waiting for her outside his building, his hands resting on the cold glass panes as he helplessly watched the car disappear from sight.


	14. xiv

Hello! I decided to upload this chapter today instead of last saturday as a little gift for all of you. Happy Valentine's! If you don't have a valentine of your own, then you can join me today and read tons of fanfiction of your otp. Who needs a significant other when you can fantasize about your favorite characters kissing?

Enjoy!

* * *

 **xiv**

* * *

Stu missed her. Very much so.

It was almost painful, really, to walk into her office every morning with Russ and not find her there. She had been a constant in his life ever since he signed with El Diablo, they had grown impossibly close since they started dating, and suddenly Noodle was not by his side on a daily basis anymore and it was odd. It left his heart feeling heavy and hollow at once, only to come back to life when his phone buzzed with an update from her.

As cliché as it sounded, it felt like he was addicted to her. He remembered that back in younger days when he made use of licit and illicit drugs that he could hardly go a day without feeling the rush through his body; this was pretty much the same. Or maybe he was just clingy.

Stu was sure to make good use of all the social media profiles they had created for him and he followed every single person that she tagged in her pictures or mentioned in her texts. That way, he could keep up with her work when she had no time to talk with him, and he would sit for minutes replaying the videos and stories posted on Instagram of her playing rad tunes in her electric guitar. He had never seen her playing that particular instrument before, only the acoustic guitar, and he felt his heart swelling at how talented she was. Noodle frequently sent him audios and pictures of the places she went, selfies and snaps of her cat that she was planning on taking to England with her once she returned.

They did not find time to visit one another. Holidays in Japan did not coincide with holidays in England, and it was a much too long trip to take on a weekend. They would both have to leave in working days to return on working days, only to see each other for about two days only, and most of the time would be spent on a plane. As much as they wanted to meet each other, this arrangement would not work well. They made up for it, though, by Skyping whenever possible. Noodle would sometimes start a video call just to blow him a kiss and wish him a good day as she slipped under the covers of her bed. Stu would put his insomnia episodes to good use and stay up to talk with her on holidays until wee hours and she forced him to disconnect to catch some much needed sleep.

He was writing songs in the period while she was away, enough songs to compose half an album. They were unfinished, though. As much as Russel sat with him throughout the day helping him write and compose, and even Murdoc gave his two cents every once in a while, there was something missing, a special touch only Noodle had. She had helped him finish the first song and he wanted her to be part of the new album just as much as she was part of his life. He knew it was too early to be thinking of another album, but honestly? He did not care. It was not always when the singer felt this inspired to write and compose so much, and besides, it was not like the other album would be ready and done in a month. He could get this out of the way now and plan a tour, maybe later take a one, two year break and focus on recording only once he was ready.

With _The Fall_ scheduled for release a week after her expected return, and most things regarding it already solved, 2D had a lot of free time on his hands to spend as he wished. As much as he went out with Russel on a regular basis, the singer was working on his songs when alone in his apartment and was often talking to Murdoc about it. The ex-bassist did not mind this boost of creativity. On the contrary, the more he produced, the more the label would earn, and money always made him very satisfied. The three were sometimes together in her office discussing many things and Russ was looking forward to participating in some tracks.

2D spread the papers across the floor of Noodle's office and commented on some lyrics he was working and the few melodies and demos that needed to be perfected so they could be used. Russel picked a paper up, nodding along to the melody composed by his longtime friend. The song had a beachy feel to it, going along with the theme the singer was aiming for. He put down the sheet and picked up another one, his blank eyes scanned the ugly scrawl that was the singer's handwriting. The lyrics were good... But...

"I don't think ya should show Murdoc this one yet." He said, leaving the blue haired Brit confused. Russel craned his neck to look at 2D, smiling knowingly. "Have ya told her already?"

The singer picked up the sheet and examined it. All he had told the rapper was that the song would probably be much better if it were a duet, but he did not know where Noodle came into this. Maybe he assumed 2D would ask her to sing it with him? He had considered the idea, honestly, but did not know if she could sing at all or if she would even agree to it.

2D stored the song along with others inside a clear plastic case with the words _Gorillaz: 2nd album_ written in black copic marker which was kept inside his wardrobe. The case width was thick with pictures, quotes, and newspaper cutouts about climate changes and related issues. All that talk about trash discarded in the ocean made him think of a beach while composing. Hmm... Beach... Plastic...

One day, he got his hands on a ukulele that he found in the storage room after he decided to take an aimless walk around the building. Stu could hardly play it. Since his accidents, he had not had the coordination necessary to play acoustic guitars and whatnot. That was why he preferred the keyboards nowadays; his fingers did not get caught in the strings. Russel had given it a try, even though his specialty laid in percussion, but the instrument was too small for his big hands. It was a clumsy affair and he was afraid he would drop it at any moment.

Soon, the anticipated day came and Noodle was still in Japan. Copies of _The Fall_ were set on shelves of music stores all around the country and it was available for digital download and stream on many platforms. A small get together was held in one of the meeting rooms of El Diablo to celebrate the release of his very first studio album. At some point in the evening, Murdoc approached him with a tablet computer in his hands and passed him the device without a single word. Upon glancing at the screen, he could see a very energy drained Noodle giving him a soft, apologetic smile as she congratulated him for his accomplishments. 2D distanced himself from the others to lean against the wall and whisper words of thanks to her, his own smile as longing and rueful as hers. God, how he missed her. He wished he could reach over the screen and touch her face.

More days passed and the guitarist had no idea when she would return. She stopped giving him a deadline so she would not squash his hopes when the time arrived and she could not go back home just yet. She was getting busied and busier and had little time to talk to him, but she would always send a quick text or a picture of something from the studio. The singer felt like he could not take this distance anymore and would often bury his face in his couch, wishing it could have retained some of her scent.

A while later, Russel and 2D were in her office, the singer listlessly looking out the window as the rapper drummed a beat on a notebook to try to cheer up the atmosphere. His friend was feeling so low and he had not seen such thing since his girlfriend from their college days broke up with him. The door opened to reveal Murdoc, late as ever, his multicolored eyes immediately falling on the slumped form of his newest star.

He spared Russel a glance and spoke. "I, eh... Thought yeh'd like to know tha' Noodle got 'ome 'bout an hour ago."

2D stiffened in the chair as his boss closed the door and left them alone. He could feel Russel's eyes on him, waiting. He wanted nothing more than to just run over, but they were working on things together...

"Go, man." The singer whipped his head in his direction and stared silently. "I mean it, dude." The rapper said seriously. "I could use this time to do some laundry and ya obviously need to see her 'fore ya wilt away, so."

The singer sprung to his feet, giving him a breathy thanks as he crossed the distance to the door and made his way to the underground parking lot. His car was a little old, but a classic and he loved it regardless, but he wished that it were one of those superfast cars right now so he could make it to their apartment building in less than a minute, which would not be possible anyway given traffic lights, but one could dream.

He parked a block away in the first available spot he found and rushed over, his smoker lungs making it hard for him to go faster than a brisk walk, waving halfheartedly at the gatekeeper that gave him a knowing nod and allowed him to enter without much fuss. 2D willed the elevator to go faster as he tapped his foot impatiently and stumbled his way out into the hallway, placing his palms on the front door of the apartment and blindly searching for the doorbell, hearing it ringing beyond the walls when he jabbed it with a finger.

A long silence followed before the lock clicked and the door opened.


	15. xv

In hindsight, this should be your true Valentine's Day gift; I just thought that it wouldn't happen for another chapter, but what matters is that it happens. Right?

Today was such a lazy day and I was so ready to postpone this, but I decided to post so I could feel like I did something after all.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **xv**

* * *

The door opened, Noodle standing on the other side and slowly lifting her head up to look at his face. Dressed in a short flannel pajamas, she had traces of makeup mingled with some shadows under her eyes and her hair was a mess, but he thought she was so beautiful anyway. Her lips slowly stretched into a grin and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her until they were both breathless, but he held himself back, looking down at her lovingly.

She let him inside and locked the door again before guiding him to a small round table in the kitchen reserved for small meals. The apartment smelled of freshly brewed coffee and melted butter, and he sat across from her when she slumped in her chair. Out of habit, he had brought along his music case, which he placed on the counter and left there.

"I see my dad already broke the news." She said quietly, fingers tearing at the toast in her plate. "I was going to call you later, because I don't think I'll interact much now." Noodle must have seen the horror he felt for coming without even considering that she would be very tired from a long flight and looked down at her sticky fingers, giving up the idea of reaching over the table for him. "You're welcome to stay if you don't mind me sleeping on your shoulder." She joked.

Much on the contrary. The idea of staying close to her after so long apart was very appealing. "Sounds good to me."

She gave him a tired smile and lifted up the slice of bread to show him three-fourths remaining. "I've been trying to eat this for twenty minutes now." He chuckled quietly and watched as she disposed of the toast in the bin and washed her hands in the kitchen sink.

With a wiggle of her fingers, Noodle invited him to follow her into the other side of the apartment, a more private area where the bedrooms were located. He had never been here before, much less inside her bedroom, and he tried to be as discreet as possible as he looked around. Noodle was pulling back the thick, elegant comforters of her queen-size bed and fluffing out one of the many pillows at her disposal. The white curtains were already closed, leaving the room dimly lit. Two doors led elsewhere. All in all, her bedroom was very neat and tidy, almost minimalistic except for a shelf above her work desk, littered with souvenirs from the many places she visited.

He yelped when he noticed a very real looking cat among the colorful trinkets staring back at him. Noodle ceased crawling on the mattress to look at him and then at the shelf. "Oh, I brought Katsu along." She flopped down on her bed with a sigh. "Say hi, Katsu."

Surprisingly, the cat meowed as if in greeting. His girlfriend patted the spot next to her and snuggled deeper beneath the covers. Stu hesitated before ultimately kicking away his shoes and dropping his jacket in a heap on the ground. He barely felt the texture of her fluffy rug beneath his sock-clad feet before he followed her under the comforter, nearly sinking down into her ridiculously soft pillows. Noodle snuggled close to him, pressing herself to his side and sighing contently into his neck, breathing in his simple smell of soap and smoke. He turned to lie on his side and wrap an arm around her waist, burying his face into her hair and taking in a deep breath.

"I missed yeh." He whispered against her locks, nuzzling his nose on the crown of her head gently.

"I missed you too." Noodle was running her fingers along his spine beneath his shirt, giving him a hard time trying to suppress a shiver, which made itself known once she tilted her head to place a wet kiss on the underside of his chin.

His breath left him in a rush and he was reminded of the day she departed, the way she had moaned softly as he touched her, her sounds driving him insane. He was beginning to grow aroused and could tell she was, too, given that she was nibbling insistently on the skin on his neck and still touching his back freely. Stu was more than willing to take her right now any way she wanted, but reminded himself that she had just gotten home and was exhausted.

It was a good thing that Katsu decided to jump onto the bed and settle by their heads, the cat's presence disturbing the mood. Noodle pulled away with a sigh, frowned at her pet and apologized to her boyfriend. On any other day, Stu would have glared at the cat, but Noodle had fallen asleep almost immediately and so he was glad. It would have been awful if he got too much into it and she fell asleep.

* * *

Stu stirred in her bed, slowly coming back to his senses to hear a quiet conversation and feeling fingers working through his hair. He groaned softly at the feel of her fingers combing through his locks, a happy sigh leaving him as he rubbed his cheek on the softness of her pillow, straining to understand her hushed words.

"Alright, dad, don't worry. Me? Behave? You behave!" She laughed quietly. "You're the one going out for the evening." Evening? He frowned slightly, shifting closer to her body. Had they slept for so long? She hummed as if deep in thought. "Sure, right. Dad! Stop it!" Stu tried not to laugh at her hissed words. It was possible to hear Murdoc's distinguishable voice through the phone, though he had no idea of what he was saying. "Fiiiine. Goodbye, dad, love you."

He waited a little to pretend that he was waking up, stretching his legs and back until his bones popped. Noodle was still blissfully touching his hair and he felt so at peace with her now. Stu opened his eyes, the room illuminated by a soft light that came from the little crystal pendants hanging above both bedside tables, substituting the usual lampshade set on that piece of furniture. Her chest rumbled softly beneath his cheek as she greeted him in a whisper.

Wait a minute. Her chest? Under his cheek?

The singer opened his eyes to find that he was using her chest as pillow, growing horrified once he realized he had nuzzled her breast just moments before and not one of her overly soft pillows as he had believed. He pulled away in a haste, directing his wide eyes to her face to find her smirking teasingly at him. It was obvious to him that she had awakened long before; her hair was drier now than it was damp and a satin robe was wrapped around her figure. Stu kept his eyes carefully trained on her face so they would not dip down and look at the cleavage that surely was showing.

"Cat got your tongue?"

He swallowed at her tone, his gaze flickering to her bare leg as she slowly moved it until it was bent, the pale pink fabric of her robe falling away to reveal a lot of bare skin on her thigh. Shit, he was starting to get aroused just by looking at her. "No. Where's tha bathroom?"

She frowned and pointed at one of the doors, watching in confusion as he jumped away from the bed and ran into the adjacent room. Stu closed the door and flicked on the lights, squinting as he was greeted by the mostly white interior of her bathroom, some steam from her shower still lingering on the walls and mirror. It was much bigger than his own, and it had a shower _and_ a bathtub. He ignored those completely as he rested his hands on the marble counter and searched frantically for her toothpaste. Now, he was sure his breath was bad after sleeping for so long, and he sure would not share her toothbrush, so he settled for swishing some water in his mouth with some of the minty cream until he felt his breath was clean enough.

The singer exited the bathroom just as quickly as he had entered, startling Noodle when the door swung open and he walked over to the bed in large, quick strides. She barely had any time to ask if he was feeling fine, because he latched his mouth onto hers and moved until he was crouching on top of her. Flat on her back, she moaned in approval, spreading her legs and feeling the weight of his hips settle down on her own, his tongue moving against hers in a frenzy.

Her head tilted back with a sigh and she caught the hem of his shirt in her hands, stopping herself before removing it. Noodle broke the kiss and regarded his face, color rising to his cheeks, his eyes tightly shut. Running her fingertips on whatever skin she could reach that moment, she marveled at the way his frame shuddered above her as she lightly touched his sides. This man was one of a kind. One month together in each other's presence as a couple and nearly three together in total had her feeling so happy it was unbelievable. Her last meaningful relationship had been a while ago and she could not remember if it ever felt this right. It seemed her heart could barely take it.

Stu was panting heavily, looking down at her in wonder, growing warm all over as she graced him with the softest of smiles. Slowly, she tugged the shirt away from his body and tossed it aside, cupping his face next to bring it down and kiss his lips gently. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she pecked his mouth once more. He liked this. They certainly would have more time to go wild in the future, but right now, it needed to be this way, slow and sweet. He braced his weight on his forearms and returned her kisses, their mouths and tongues moving together in leisure, leaving all the rushed neediness behind.

Once his arms started to hurt, he sat back on his heels and unraveled the silky strip keeping her robe closed. She was wearing a very nice looking black lacy set, which he appreciated for a while before he expertly unhooked her bra and discarded it. Her skin was flushed prettily as he lowered himself to kiss and nip at her neck, growling softly as she scratched his back and grasped his shoulders. Noodle was squeezing him with her thighs and shifting her hips repeatedly, trying to get some friction going between their sexes.

Stu pulled away and held her hips down with his hands, and she whimpered, biting down on her lip as she looked at him pleadingly. He felt a strange surge of power coursing through him just by having her at his mercy at this very instant, unable to act out on her desires. She had been the one to slow down the pace, but had clearly gotten too impatient. Well, too bad. He was having fun watching her chest heaving for breaths as his hands stroked her waist and teasingly touched the side of her breasts.

"Easy," he said huskily and hooked his thumbs around her panties. Noodle was a sight to behold, honestly, but he doubted he would ever be able to watch her like this for an extended period of time and not take action. She wiggled around until he managed to slip the piece away, a long, pleasured noise leaving his mouth when he caught a glimpse of what laid between her legs in the process, the wetness so evident he felt his erection throb almost painfully, asking for attention.

Noodle jolted in bed when he quickly lowered himself and placed his mouth over her lower lips, his tongue trailing along the slit so slowly her eyes rolled back. She was gripping the bedsheets, broken moans filling the space around them as her spine arched and her toes curled in ecstasy. With every stroke of his tongue, she felt herself getting closer and closer to something more and wished this feeling would last forever. The guitarist did not know whether to beg him to keep going or to stop, and after a while of unsuccessful debating in her mind, she got hold of his hair to stop him, rising on her knees as he once more sat back to watch her, licking his lips as he did so.

She melded her lips to his, her palms trailing down his chest and stomach, fingers working on the fly of his pants once they reached it. As best as she could, she shoved the articles of clothing out of the way and wrapped her fingers around his arousal, pumping him slowly and opening her eyes a fraction to watch his expression as he threw his head back and moaned openly. Noodle bit down on her lips once more and felt a longing tingling between her legs. Distantly, she wondered if she would come just by pleasuring him as he had done before she left. While that would be a very interesting occurrence, she would rather not have an orgasm now without him inside her.

With that in mind, she pulled away completely and laid back down on the bed, parting her legs invitingly. Stu was looking at her through a haze for a moment before he clumsily pushed his jeans and underwear down his legs, and crawled over her body, capturing her lips once more and kissing her until she broke them apart to gasp as he entered her completely.

Oh, this, this was really something. He had to admit that he had slept with a lot of women before, but he also had to be honest with himself and admit that nothing compared to sleeping with someone you truly cared about. He had always made sure that his one-night stands would leave completely satisfied, but knowing that he was making his girlfriend moan and beg for more was on another level completely.

She was so good, so warm, and so soft. His fingertips dug into the side of her hips, lips on her neck, feeling the pulse beneath her skin. The smell of her shampoo washed over his senses and he could smell nothing but her, the peach scent of her tresses, the sweat on her skin, that musky scent that he also got to taste beforehand. He loved everything about her.

He loved her.

That realization caught him so off guard he snapped his eyes open. Noodle was unaware of what was going on inside his head, and it was by a miracle that he had not stopped rocking against her, because she was arching her back in such a way that he knew exactly what it meant. And also, now he understood Russel's words. That song, the duet, the lyrics he wrote late at night when it was raining so hard he could not get a stable internet connection to talk to her via video chat. He never told her.

He loved her.

"Oh, Stu..." She breathed in his ear, her lips brushing his skin, his hair caught in her fingers. Her wavering murmur, so full of passion, propelled him to give one hard thrust and she came undone beneath him.


	16. xvi

Hello! It's been a while. I wanted to say that the next chapter is the epilogue, so I'll be saving my parting words for it.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **xvi**

* * *

Stu would not have fallen asleep afterwards even if he wanted to. For starters, he already slept for too long, and secondly, it was finally time that he spend some quality time with Noodle. Now that she was well rested and they put other _needs_ out of the way, they could talk properly, but first it seemed like dinner was in order. Her stomach rumbled loudly and she placed her hands over it, blushing slightly in embarrassment. He only chuckled quietly and kissed her cheek, pulling away from her form to search for his clothes.

Noodle fixed the robe around her form, foregoing underwear, and took his hand as they walked back to the kitchen, where she looked through a drawer for little pamphlets delivered to her door. Ordering something right now was better than making it from scratch, saving them time and effort, and they agreed on a cheese pizza, something the both of them enjoyed. She called the place and ordered while turning on the faucets of the bathtub and allowing it to fill up with warm water. The bathroom was foggy once more by the time the call was over and she hung the silk robe on the wall before gingerly stepping inside the shin-deep water.

He had been watching everything from the door, previously following her around the apartment in silence, and remained rooted to the spot as she sat down and exhaled. "What?" She asked and he stiffened, shoulders rising to his ears before he quickly discarded his clothes and joined her with a sheepish smile.

She was reclining against the wall, holding her arms open for him to slip inside them and lie back with his back to her chest, smiling as she gently wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer. She had dropped a bath bomb, and pink, blue and purple tones started spreading across the water around them. The air smelled of vanilla and something he could not name, and everything felt absolutely perfect.

They did not do much. At some point she moved away to shut off the water flow and reached for her phone, slipping it into a waterproof case before hitting play on some soothing, calming songs, but for most part, they simply cuddled together, talking about the time they spent apart. No, his hands did not wander, although they did stroke up and down her legs from time to time and his fingers laced with hers occasionally, but that was it. Sitting and talking was just as good as what they had done before.

Noodle told him about the studio and how high-tech it was, equipped with the latest technology and that he would have loved it. She showed his demos and finished studio songs to some of the people she worked with, promoted him wherever she went. Her fellow workmates did not ask much about him personally, unlike her mother that asked about him every day and wanted to see every available picture Noodle had of him.

Her mother. Before Noodle posted a picture of them together when she arrived in Japan, he had not bothered to look online for the woman, simply because it would feel too weird to search for his girlfriend's family on the internet. He would feel somewhat like a stalker or a fan or something – anything but her boyfriend. Anyways, he could see now where she got her looks from. They were very alike; it was as if she had not a hint of Murdoc in her genes. The shape of her face, her nose, her eyes, her lips, most of her features came from her mother, who was just now starting to show that time was catching up to her. Her shiny hair was beginning to fade to grey and some minimal crinkles were showing up on the corner of her eyes. Certainly, she took great care of herself.

She had complimented him, also. Noodle told him she said he was a handsome young man, very talented and good looking, and that she was thankful he made her daughter happy. She expressed her desire to meet him as well. He did not quite agree on the "young man" part, but he was glad she seemed to approve of him.

Talking about her mother made him think of his own parents. His were much older than hers and it felt like a long time had passed since he last spoke to them, which was most likely true. The last time he had called them was to announce he would try to sign with El Diablo and promise he would call them later to tell the news. He never did. Stu made a mental note to call them as soon as possible and maybe organize to meet with them so he could formally introduce them to Noodle. Where were they living now, Eastbourne?

Noodle placed a kiss on the crook of his neck and stood up, reaching for a towel and stepping onto the damp rug on the floor as she dried herself. He plucked the plug away and let the water swirl down the drain, now standing inside the tub as the water dripped away and she went back to her room to get him a towel. She gave him an appreciative once-over once she was back inside, now dressed in a simple cotton dress. Katsu was curled up in a pillow in the living room when they returned and she accompanied him to the door, giving him a quick kiss before he made his way downstairs to retrieve their meal while she set up the table.

Stu finally made some small talk with the gatekeeper as he waited for the pizza delivery guy to arrive. His name was John, he was in his fifties and had two kids, married to only one woman in his life and a fan of Manchester United. They engaged in a talk about football, which kept the both of them entertained while some residents entered and left the building occasionally, until a bike parked just outside the gates and their conversation was cut short. The singer paid for the food and tipped the teen, bid goodbye to his new acquaintance and backtracked his steps up to her apartment.

The door was unlocked and so he entered without ringing the doorbell, simply calling out for her to let her know he came back. Noodle was sitting on a corner of the couch, legs folded beneath her, looking through a bunch of papers that he realized was his music sheets and lyrics. He cringed, left the pizza box on the counter where he had previously left his case and rushed to her side.

The dark cushion dipped beneath his weight and he peered at the paper in her hands, a blush rising to his cheeks almost instantaneously. That one song he had written one night when he could not sleep and his head was nearly killing him. With chemicals from the many painkillers he took coursing through his bloodstream, he sat in his bed with only the faint light coming from the living room illuminating his bedroom, scribbling in the dark, wanting to have a smoke but knowing it would make him feel worse. _Melancholy Hill_. Most part of the lyrics did not make much sense – he mentioned a manatee for God's sake – but he was constantly trying to imagine the feeling of her fingers working through his hair, calming his senses, lulling him to sleep, hence the part she spoke aloud.

"You are my medicine when you're close to me." She recited, murmuring the words in wonder, and then looked up at him with a question in her eyes.

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I don' fink I can explain that." Not without saying one thing he realized not too long ago.

Oh. That gave him an idea. Stu reached for the case, ignoring her protests and flipping through the mess looking for that particular song. "Can yeh play a song fo' me, love?" She gave him an odd look and shuffled away towards the acoustic guitar beside the other couch. He used that time to erase his lines from the paper; he knew them by heart now, and did not want his, um, surprise to be spoiled. Yeah.

Noodle settled back down and looked at the paper sheets he balanced on her thighs. She read over the musical notes and plucked the strings a few times trying to get them right, saying. "You want me to sing, too?"

"I want to see 'ow this will sound like as a duet, so..." He replied casually with a shrug.

She nodded in understanding and ended the sequence of notes, taking a small pause before she started over. "Waiting by the mailbox, by the train."

Stu exhaled through his nostrils, already feeling his heart speeding up as she progressed further into the song. The acoustic guitar got close to convey the exact melody he was looking for, but not quite. They would have to try later with a ukulele because he had a feeling that that was the right instrument needed for this. Her voice was soothing and fit the song perfectly. He did not know if he could convince her to play _and_ sing, but it was worth a shot.

He nearly missed his cue. "I wait to be forgiven, maybe I never will." He was shaking. His hands were quivering so much he shoved them between his thighs, reminding him of the first time he had done that in Murdoc's office in El Diablo Records. Noodle was oblivious of his nervousness, which he was thankful for; if she noticed such thing and decided to ask what was going on, the singer did not think he could make it through.

"Waiting in my room and I lock the door." She was so focused on the sheets, a pinch prominent between her brows as her eyes scanned his ugly scrawl, somehow managing to read the words correctly. He was starting to feel breathless.

"I'm caught again in the mystery." Stu closed his eyes tightly, his heart reminiscing of a wild horse galloping in his chest, so hard and fast it was almost painful. He could do this. For once, he would have to push his anxiety and self-doubt away and believe that he was strong and confident enough to just... Just sing it. It was written there, he just had to pretend it was a song like any other he sang along to the radio and say it. "I just have to tell you that I..."

Noodle kept playing, probably thinking that his pause was intentional. "That I..." He repeated and she decided to look at him with a slight frown on her face. Stu shut his mouth to swallow, but his lips fell open again as he met her eyes. "I..."

She stopped playing completely, a hand over the strings and turned her body in his direction. She was completely confused by his actions; he could see worry flitting across her face. Had he forgotten? Was he okay? Did his voice just fail him for a moment?

Say it, 2D. Say it, Stuart, _say it!_

Her warm hand on his cold one jerked him back to reality. "I just have to tell you that I..." He licked his lips, cursing his voice for wavering now. "I love you so much these days."

The hand on top of his jolted and her eyes widened. Noodle was painfully silent and immobile for the seconds that followed his confession, which made him more anxious than before. Stu wished he could know what was going through her head, but alas, he was born without that power, so all he could do was wait for her to come back to her senses.

Stu was nearly scared out of his skin when the guitar fell unceremoniously to the floor with a loud, hollowed bang, and found himself on his back on the couch, Noodle lying on top of him with her hands cupping his face, her lips pressed to his own. The kiss that followed was sure to leave their mouths swollen, nearly bruised, however clumsy it was with their teeth knocking together once. One of his hands rested on the small of her back, itching to slip further down to her bottom, beneath her dress to grope her soft skin. She moaned in appreciation when his other palm touched her waist and she pulled away to catch her breath.

The smile she gave him was brilliant. "I love you, too."

"Ugh." They froze and a cold feeling of dread settled on their chests and stomachs at the noise. Together, the couple lifted their heads to look at Murdoc casually leaning on the wall and eating a slice of pizza from the box. "Keep tha' up an' I'll lose me appetite."

Noodle stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to her boyfriend to give him a sweet, lingering kiss.


	17. xvii

Heeyy all! Here we have the epilogue! I want to thank you all so much for reading, favoriting, commenting, and sharing your support! Don't worry, this will not be the last time you'll hear of me. I do have another story on the works, but I need to take a break and focus on finishing what I have started.

That being said, tomorrow I leave for their concert and I am! so! excited! And afterwards, I'll spend some time on the beach, which hopefully will inspire me to continue that story I mentioned before, which is set during Phase 3

I'll see you guys around!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **xvii**

* * *

 _The Fall_ sold a good amount of copies, not as much as Murdoc was used to, but everyone started somewhere. Stu was pleased with the outcome, for it was much more than he had expected, and this slow ascend into the limelight prepared him for when his songs were truly a hit. After the initial scare of paparazzi following him and Noodle in the beginning stages of their relationship, the number of unwanted photographers dwindled down to a minimum and slowly increased once his album was released. They still heeded Noodle's threat, though, and kept their distance from the singer, apprehensive that she would somehow corner them on the streets or that her dad would damn them all to Hell.

The first thing he did with the money he earned was move to a new apartment place. He still could not own a place in the same building as hers, but both he and Russel managed to move to a better place that was at least closer to El Diablo. The two long-time friends worked on some compositions together and Murdoc tried hard to lure the rapper-slash-percussionist to his own label, but Russel was still a bit hesitant to do that and did not want to leave the one person that helped him make a name for himself.

Stu was planning a tour around the United Kingdom first. He had a considerate amount of fans, and apparently, he had a fanbase in Japan, because Noodle would often tell him that people commented on her pictures asking him to perform in her home country. Before they announced dates for his shows, though, he figured he should play in some festivals, such as Glastonbury, if only to test the waters out a bit and get the chance to feel how it would be like to sing in front of many, many people. So on a Saturday night in June, he made his very first live concert, too nervous to even speak coherently to the crowd, which many girls deemed as endearing. Noodle rolled her eyes upon hearing that from her spot in the backstage, standing between Murdoc and Russel and giving her boyfriend the support needed to face the crowd and passing him water bottles.

He stuck his head behind one of the black curtains to ask about the setlist once and the audience began making cooing noises and applauding, making Noodle choke on the drink she had been sipping then and leaving him too flustered to raise his head as he announced the next song. Of course, his reaction made everyone tease him further.

The festival was broadcasted, so he was surprised when he got a call from his parents at eleven in the evening, both congratulating him for the concert that they made sure to watch. He would never have expected that his parents, both nearing their seventies, would stay up so late to watch him sing for a crowd bigger than one that could fit into a bar. It made him indescribably happy to know that they were supporting him even from afar. His eyes watered and Noodle gently stroked his chest, her body pressed to his side, smiling up at him as he thanked his parents for being so amazing.

Later, Stu fell backwards on his bed, the new spring mattress making him bounce back up slightly before he settled down for good, sighing quietly, hair still damp from the shower he took late at night. He rolled to his side just in time to see Noodle stepping out from the bathroom with that silk robe he so adored wrapped around her figure. She quirked an eyebrow playfully at him when he smirked at her attire and pulled back the covers of his bed.

He was upon her before she had even made herself comfortable, cupping a cheek with one hand and coaxing her mouth into opening to receive the slow ministration of his tongue. She returned the kiss for a while and pulled away with a hum. "Aren't you tired?"

"I'm dead on me feet." He said bluntly, and she snorted at his tone. "I was hopin' I'd find some strength, but no."

Noodle laughed quietly and sighed when he rested his cheek on her chest, her fingers already finding their way to his hair to play with it. "Later, then."

"Hmmm, please." His voice was already slurred, a more than obvious sign that he was drained. "Noodle?" He inquired after a pause and continued when she hummed in acknowledgement. "Move in wif me?"

Her eyes opened to look down at him, finding that he moved as well to face her. "Maybe it's a bit early, Stu. And I don't really want to leave my dad by himself yet. Again."

The singer nodded in understanding, not bothered by her statement. As much as sleeping beside her every night would be wonderful, he would not mind waiting for her to pack her bags and come live with him.

"Besides," she began. "I haven't met your parents yet."

Stu lifted his head from her chest. "We can go as soon as yeh want to, love. I'd like to meet yer mom, too."

"She's looking forward to that, believe me." She stretched her limbs like a cat, sighing in satisfaction when some of her bones popped.

He watched the action intently and groaned, tugging at the robe to reveal a pair of dark blue, lacy underwear he had not seen yet. She seemed to favor lace over sheer material, but he would love both regardless, honestly. "I can' believe yer teasin' me like this."

Noodle giggled lightly. "I'm not teasing you."

"Yes, yeh are." He huffed and leaned forward to kiss her again, but quickly pulled back. "Oh God, I can't, I'm too tired, I'm sorry."

She laughed aloud then, freely, recoiling slightly into herself in the process. When she stopped, he was pouting at her. "Sorry, baby." Noodle apologized with a chaste kiss to his lips. "Hopefully, tomorrow morning you'll be feeling more energized."

"Oh, yeh bet I'll be." He said lowly, teasingly. Her body twisted beneath his palm as she reached for the light switch on the wall and plunged the room into darkness.


End file.
